


Scattered Clouds of Dust

by Handful_Of_Stars



Category: AKB0048, Senki Zesshou Symphogear, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Edit as I go, Former Idol Mirko, Friends to Lovers, How Do I Tag, Idol Kirishima Eijirou, Idol Midoriya Izuku, M/M, Midoriya Izuku is a Ray of Sunshine, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Singer Midoriya Izuku, Work In Progress, alternate universe - akb0048 fusion, alternate universe - senki zesshou symphogear fusion, idol Aoyama Yuuga, idol Ashido Mina, idol Komori Kinoko, symphogear user Midoriya Izuku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:16:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23045404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Handful_Of_Stars/pseuds/Handful_Of_Stars
Summary: Izuku always wanted to be a hero, even if everyone else told him he had no chance. So when a deal with a mysterious entity grants him the power to actually have a chance as long as he became an idol, who was he to argue?But then again, sometimes thinking ahead wasn't always his strong suit.AKB0048/Symphogear AU
Relationships: Kirishima Eijirou/Midoriya Izuku, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 38
Kudos: 97





	1. A Task, A Goal, A Reason

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just an idea I made. Not sure where I'm going with this, but I had a weird bunny of an idea so here I am. Please review and comment, it truly helps motivate me.

His bruises feel particularly sensitive today. 

Izuku sat at a bench in park, patching up his bruises and burns with the spare first aid kit he kept in his backpack. He winced from the stinging of the alcohol pad before he applied the cooling burn cream. Keeping focused on helping himself, it still couldn’t deter his head from going into darker thoughts.

 _Quirkless_ , the word was a brand on him. Just as hot and just as intense, it felt like something he would never escape. And if the world followed Bakugou's example, the world will never let him. Life wasn’t fair and Izuku felt like it would never look at him in a positive light. Why did he have to be born without a quirk, even the simplest of quirks would’ve been better than nothing at all. 

Izuku sighed to himself. Moaning about being quirkless wasn’t going to do anything for him and it certainly wasn’t going to fix anything. Just because he was quirkless didn’t mean he had to give up, it didn’t mean that everything was meaningless. He had to keep that hope up, he had too. 

A light flashed within the deeper parts of the forest, forcing Izuku from his thoughts. He stared into the line of trees, trying to find whatever could’ve made that glow. Smaller light, like fireflies, began to glow behind the initial line of trees. Different colored lights, small but strong, lazily floated in Izuku’s line of sight.

Izuku didn’t know of any bugs that could glow that color, especially that bright. He almost missed it, but the longer he stared at the glowing lights did he begin to hear an almost soft trill come from the forest. It sounded like someone singing a little ‘lalala.’ Curiosity getting the better of him, Izuku felt himself rise from the bench and slowly walk toward the glowing lights. 

As he approached closer, the lights became more distinguishable. Small blobs, almost jellyfish-like, of different shapes floated around the trees. All seemed to trill lightly, singing to each other, singing to Izuku. Some noticed him, only curiously glancing down at the boy as he traversed the forest. Had he noticed, maybe Izuku would’ve seen the light from the sun becoming darker, much faster than should be possible.

The little creatures floated above the middle-schooler, their trills inviting and sweet. Izuku almost wanted to sing back. He didn’t think he was much of a singer, but the jellyfish creature made it seem like fun. Suddenly, the boy stopped midstep. The urge to sing became stronger and stronger, the jellyfish around began glowing more strongly, their movement becoming erratic. 

**Sing...Sing…**

A voice whispered into his ears. A command, a wish. Who was he to deny them?

_The apple floated in the sky_

_The apple fell down to the ground_

Izuku didn’t know what he was singing, it almost felt like it wasn’t his choice to do it. The creatures that once floated innocently began to swirl around him, an audience just for him. 

_The stars were born, the songs were born._

_The Lulu Amelu smiled for eternity._

_The stars kissed, the songs slept._

Every single jellyfish creature began to glow even brighter, making what looked like a small cluster of stars circle Izuku. His eyes began to take on this glow, eerily bright and intense. That same glow seemed to encompass his whole body, making him seem like the center of a galaxy.

_Where will they call home?_

_Where will they call home?_

Two groups began forming a distance away from Izuku, near the middle of the trees, way above Izuku. Their shapes seem to morph together, forming orbs in the air of intense rainbow lights. They almost looked like eyes.

_The apple fell down to the ground._

_The apple floated in the sky._

They were eyes.

The final note left Izuku’s mouth and all he could hear was the trills and cooing of the creatures around him. Looking up, the two glowing eyes still floated in front of him. Waiting for something. 

“W-What are you?”

**Sensei...Sensei…**

The voice sounded like a thousand different voices at once. Izuku would’ve thought he needed to cover his ears at the intensity, but at most it sounded like a thousand faint whispers. 

“What are these?” Izuku held a hand out to one of the glowing creatures, a small green one coming to float above his hand. It was small, with a much brighter glow now that it was in front of his face. It has two small black dots for eyes and was shaped like a small sun. It seemed to make what felt like a smile, causing Izuku to reflect one back at it.

**Kirara...Kirara…**

“So these are called Kirara,” the one in Izuku’s hand sung at him, floating off his hand and swirling slowly around his head. “Is there a reason you called me here? Why did you make me sing?” Izuku knew that this Sensei Sensei was the one who made him sing. It was an imposing force, something Izuku could almost call god-like. 

**Voice...Idol...Hero...For The People…**

“A voice for the people? A hero? Idol? I can’t be a hero! Especially an idol. I don’t have a quirk or anything!” Izuku protested. Suddenly, the Kirara around swirled and spun again. This time, they seemed to converge at a single point, causing an almost too bright orb to appear. Suddenly, the light stopped and the Kirara from before floated down. An item, a rock, floated in front of the creature, making it seem like it was carrying it. The Kirara stopped in front of Izuku and seemed to hold out the rock to Izuku. It looked like a small hexagonal pendant. It seemed to shift between a glowing blue and a deep red.

At first he was unsure, not completely sold on taking a rock from strange creatures. But Izuku also knew that his dreams of being a hero were down the drain and he never had the thought of being an idol. And when you were at rock bottom, the only way to go was up.

Before he could actually grab the pendant, it quickly glowed to bright to look at before shooting itself at Izuku. Not being able to dodge in time, the pendant pierced itself into the center of Izuku’s chest. Falling on his back, his blood began to stain his shirt. 

Grasping at his chest, Izuku began to panic before Sensei Sensei whispered into his head.

**Don’t worry. We’ll be here with you and we will guide. Sing well, Little Songbird.**

The last thing Izuku saw was the glowing Kirara, like stars in the sky, before it all faded to black. 

* * *

Izuku woke up in a hospital bed, his mom holding his hand.

The white of the room hurt his eyes, so he shut them, content to just stay laying down. As awareness began to spread down his body, Izuku noticed the awkward pulse of pain in his chest. Suddenly, the memories came back and he used his other hand to feel on his chest. Bandages stopped him from feeling the actual skin of where he assumed whatever punctured him was left. It also confirmed the reality of what happened. It all feels like a dream.

The movement of his hand awoke his mom, who was quick to bombard him with questions.

“Oh Izuku, where were you? What happened? They said you had to have been attacked by a villain but they weren’t sure! They just found you laying on the ground bleeding.” His mom babbled and teared up as she was talking, almost hysterical. Izuku tried his best to calm her down and try to get a word in. 

“I’m fine, mom. It’s ok. I’m not really sure what happened either. I can barely understand what happened in the forest either.” Izuku said, his hands slowly falling into his lap. Inko could only stare as her son became slightly solemn.

“I...I think I know what I want to do.” 

Izuku turns toward his mother, a light behind his eyes that his mother hasn’t seen since before they were told his quirkless status. Inko held her breath, the person she knew her child to be was coming back and while she didn’t know what happened in that forest, she knew it must have shook Izuku as a person for this to happen.

“I don’t want to just be a hero. I want to be an idol.” Izuku’s said, almost like a vow, a promise. His shone with a light almost quirklike, a manifestation of his sudden bout of determination. For a moment, Izuku thought that maybe Sensei Sensei was influencing his thoughts, but he was quick to push that away. He always wanted to be a hero, but being quirkless was something that wouldn’t let him reach very far in the field. Having a quirk was necessary in heroics, but being an idol? All he needed was determination and the heart to handle it. The only difference between an idol and a hero is the battlefield, heroes fought in the field but idols fight in the hearts of the people. Maybe he could do that.

“I don’t know how but I want to be able to be something for people. I don’t know if I can become a hero like Kacchan, but I know that I can at least try for something. I don’t want to give up my dream of being a hero. I still think I can do something to help people. I don’t want to be useless anymore.” Izuku said, his mother holding his hand and felt the trembling of his fist. 

Inko remembered when his quirkless status was announced. She remembered how he cried in front of the computer screen, watching All Might save people with his famous quirk. She remembered how she was so quick to give up on her son, her only child. She recognized her failure and realized this might be her chance to make it up. 

“Alright, Izuku. I promise to help. I believe in you.” She said. Izuku looked at her in her eyes and she realized that was exactly what he needed to hear. Now, both with tears in their eyes, know that there was work to be done. 

Getting out of the hospital was fairly easy, a detective came in and asked some questions but Izuku told them he couldn’t remember all of what happened. He said he was walking home before he was attacked and then he woke up at the hospital. They seem to take that as truth, as nothing could really prove it and there were no other reports of villain attacks in the area so they deemed him ok to go.

When they got home, Izuku asked to see if he could change the bandages on his chest. Inko agreed and left the room so he could do it himself. Unwrapping the bandages from his chest stung a bit, but the scar that was revealed surprised him a little. In the shape of a small forté, his scar was still slightly pink indicating how fresh it was but he was surprised at how much it already healed. He couldn’t help but try and touch the scar itself.

**Hey! That’s still healing, you shouldn’t touch it!**

Izuku jerked back his hand and stood up. Looking rapidly around his room, he tried to find the source of the voice.

**If you want to see me, you already know what to do.**

Despite the hammering in his chest, Izuku felt like he did know. The knowledge and sound rose up in his chest. He closed eyes and evened out his breathing

_The apple floated in the sky_

_The apple fell down to the ground_

Two lines sung and a light shined out of his chest, right from where his scar was. A small green orb began emerging from his naked chest, but he couldn’t physically feel it. When it fully formed into the air, a small pop echoed in his room, shocking Izuku and causing him to fall to the floor.

It was a Kirara, the small green sun from the forest. It turned toward him, making eye contact. It floated in the air, barely moving. 

“Took you long enough.” The same voice from before said. Izuku jumped back up into standing.

“W-What was that?” Izuku whisper-yelled. The Kirara seem to silently laugh at him, if the closed eyes and slight shaking of his body was any indication.

“I’m a Kirara. Sensei Sensei realized we really left you with little to no information so he sent me to make sure you don’t mess everything up.” It explained. Izuku could only look at the jellyfish-like being in confusion and shock.

“M-Mess what up?”

“What we asked you to do! Did you not pay attention?” It said, radiating a light that while not different seemed to read as ‘angry.’

“I did, but can you explain exactly what’s going on? Like, what are you? Who is Sensei Sensei? What am I supposed to be doing and why?”

“Gah, so many questions,” the kirara danced in the air, clearly irritated. 

“I’m a kirara, so that answers that. By the way, you can just call me Kirara since I’m gonna be here for a while,” the newly dubbed Kirara said. “I’m technically a boy but don’t worry about it too much.” 

“Sensei Sensei is Sensei Sensei, you also don’t have to worry about him too much. Just make sure to listen to him when he says something to you.” Izuku wanted to ask why he didn’t have to worry about it but he felt like Kirara would simply refuse to answer. “And Sensei Sensei wants you to help the people of this world by being an idol. Being able to connect people to their hearts, their hopes, their dreams.

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Izuku asked. Kirara huffed at him, making Izuku feel like if he could, he would smack his head.

“That’s what being an idol is for. Using the power of your voice, we can connect to the people and restore them from desolation. It’s really quite simple. But to do this, Sensei Sensei bestowed you with a dualium piece and me so that way you can truly reach the people and help/protect them if need be.”

“Dualium piece?”

“The rock inside your chest.”

“The rock inside my- What?” Izuku scrambled to his mirror and looked at his scar again. Was that the thing that pierced him last night?

“Sensei Sensei knew you didn’t have a quirk so he bestowed you a different kind of power. Dualium is a mineral that channels the radiance of a human soul. As an idol, and with your voice, you can use dualium to channel your energy as a force to help you. Idols, the way they usually are, don’t quite exist the way they used to. So we gave you a power to help you-”

“-become a hero.” Izuku whispered, finishing Kirara’s sentence. It floated silently in the air behind Izuku as the boy stared at the scar on his chest. 

“Sensei Sensei said that with this power, you can apply at that hero school and you can become an idol hero. The hero who puts radiance back into the hearts of the people.” Izuku was barely listening to Kirara, his fist pressed against his chest as it ached. He had power now? A quirk that could finally help him. What was it? Was it combat-based? How did it activate? What did he need to do? He spun around and grabbed Kirara, despite his loud protest.

“Please! Help me become a hero!” Izuku pleaded.

“Alright, alright! Let me go first.” Kirara scrambled out of his grip. It seemed to catch his breath, despite not really having a mouth. 

“The power can only be activated when you truly believe in yourself and want to help others. It’ll get easier as you go, but the first time will probably be the hardest. For now though, we need to train your body to handle the power. Also you need to train as an idol too. You should go to voice lessons, dance lessons, everything you can! After all, you’re going to become an idol hero.” Kirara said, sparkling happily in the air. 

Izuku looked at Kirara in awe. Maybe he had a chance at becoming something. Maybe he could actually achieve his dreams. Izuku held a fist to his chest before holding it out to Kirara, who paused in floating around the room.

“I promise to become an idol hero! I promise to be someone the people can look at and believe in. I promise to give my best effort, as long as you’re by my side. Please, help me become an idol hero!” Izuku vowed. As he talked, Kirara began glowing brighter and brighter, the familiar galaxy glow reappearing around the two. Kirara closed his eyes and shined in happiness.

“Alright! Let’s do this!” Kirara bumped his body against Izuku’s fist, causing the lights around them to flash too bright. The sudden light caused Izuku to yelp loudly, losing all focus and causing all the lights in the room to dissipate. 

“Izuku? Are you ok?” His mom called from down the hall. 

“Y-Yes! I tripped a bit but I’ll be there in a minute.” Izuku yelled back. Kirara only giggled floating above him. 

“Nice going, idol hero.” He snickered to himself. Izuku only sighed before straightening up. Maybe things were finally looking up. Regardless, Izuku knew he had work to do. The road to being an idol isn’t the easiest.


	2. The First Wingbeat

Dance lessons, singing lessons, and martial arts. Izuku, with the help of Kirara, rebuilt his schedule with these things in mind. .

It was his last year at Aldera Junior High so he knew he had a little over a year before applying for UA. Izuku and his mom spoke about the lessons he needed to take if he really wanted to become a hero with skills that could help him without relying on a quirk that didn’t exist. The singing and dancing lessons would also help him with being an idol, as Kirara suggested. 

The only thing his family had to pay for were the martial arts lessons, surprisingly. Chie Satonaka was a retired pro-hero, formerly known as Tomoe: the martial arts hero with a powerful ice quirk, who decided her true passion was teaching other people how to protect themselves. She was loud but friendly, a welcomed change to Izuku who was all too used to the people at his school. She said that he had a long road for training his body for something like UA, but “as long as you believe in yourself, you’ll be ok!” Or something like that. 

His singing lessons were actually free. Izuku’s mom was actually able to call in a favor from an old friend from high school who was able to give him vocal lessons. Jiro Mika, or just Jiro-Sensei, was a kind woman with an interesting ear quirk called earphone jack. She allowed Izuku to ask as many questions as he wanted about her quirk, but since she didn’t really care to explore it there wasn’t much she could answer. Jiro-Sensei was a calm woman who had many talents in music composition and playing multiple instruments. Apparently her and Izuku’s mom went to the same high school and had become friends but lost contact after graduating.

“I certainly don’t mind giving you free voice lessons. It gives me a good reason to be able to get back in touch with Inko again.” Jiro-Sensei had said over a cup of tea. Inko giggled while Izuku sat on the side only feeling a little awkward about being there. A knock on the door interrupted their banter.

Pushing the door open with her back, a girl appeared with similar colored hair as Jiro-Sensei and what looked like the same quirk. She wore an awkward but kind smile as she approached the group. 

“Ah, sorry for interrupting but I thought you guys might be running out of tea.” She said. Bringing up the tray to the small table, she introduced herself. 

“Hello, I’m Jiro Kyoka.” She refilled everyone’s cup of tea.

“Oh, Kyoka-chan, I was just speaking to the Midoriya’s about singing lessons. She sometimes helps around with lessons since I’ve been giving her ones since she was a baby.” Jiro-Sensei commented, her daughter’s cheeks turning into a subtle red. 

“O-Oh, really? I’ll help as much as I can.” She stuttered through, seemingly embarrassed. 

“T-Thank you so much!” Izuku bowed his head. Jiro waved her hands in more embarrassment.

“No, no! It’s ok. I’d be happy to help. We don’t get a lot of people asking for vocal lessons so it’s no big deal!”

Izuku was relieved. He needed all the help he could get. He and Jiro got along pretty well after that. She was a calm person, sarcastic at times and had plenty of dry humour. It was also different from what Izuku was used to when compared to people like Kacchan and his groupies. Really, everything was better than what he had then. He has been able to dodge Kacchan’s group as of late, especially with him sometimes having dance right after school. 

His dance lessons were actually a bit of an accident. Izuku and his mother were talking about dance lessons after one of his earlier martial arts lessons. Satonaka-Sensei had overheard them and mentioned her wife would be able to give them free beginner lessons just so Izuku knew the basics. 

Amagi-Sensei was almost the polar opposite of Satonaka-Sensei. She was reserved and elegant, but it was clear that she was strong-willed. Apparently she owned an inn at both her and Satonaka’s hometown but moved to the city and established a branch of that inn in Musutafu. She also provided ballet and traditional japanese dance classes as a side job. Unlike Satonaka-sensei, she had a type of fire quirk that was able to heal people, but she didn’t go into heroics like her wife. Izuku wanted to ask a thousand questions about her and Satonaka Sensei’s compatible quirks but felt that it was rude. 

“I don’t know if I have time to give you lessons, but I do have a student who was willing to spare her time to help you with the basics, at the very least.” Amagi-Sensei said. They were currently drinking tea at her dance studio/dojo at her and Satonaka-Sensei’s home. A traditional styled room with a small wooden table where they sat with Amagi-Sensei and her student, who bowed when she introduced herself.

“Hello, my name is Yaoyorozu Momo. I’m a student of Amagi-Sensei and I’d be happy to help you with basic dancing lessons.” Yaoyorozu was a girl probably near Izuku’s age if he had to guess. Her long black hair was up in a ponytail and she wore a simple blouse with black pants. She seemed incredibly elegant, making it more than obvious that Amagi’s lessons were more on the expensive side. 

“T-Thank you so much for your help!” Izuku replied, bowing his head. 

“It’s no problem, Izuku-kun. Chie told me of your financial troubles and assured me that you’d be okay with learning the bare basics. Momo will be able to easily teach you the basics and help you at least get those down before martial arts takes everything over. In the end, those two things will coincide and once you understand your body, it’ll all come so easy.” Amagi-Sensei had calmed their worries and Yaoyorozu seemed happy to help. Izuku was glad everything seemed to be going well.

Both him and Yaoyorozu also got along pretty well. Much like Jiro, she was a calm person and incredibly intelligent. He’s caught himself mumbling about a recent villain attack and the strategies the hero could've done and was surprised to find that a) she didn’t mind his mumbling and 2) was able to keep up with his thought pattern. She was kind if a little blunt, but it was all a refreshing change nonetheless from Izuku’s usual. 

* * *

A couple of months later and the differences in Izuku’s form was noticeable. Muscle began forming where there was almost nothing before. The more flexible combat Satonaka-sensei taught him along with the fluid dance movement that Yaoyorozu taught him gave a strong body hidden by compact muscles. 

Speaking of Yaoyorozu, he was actually to introduce her and Jiro when he was finally able to slum up the bravery to ask them to hang out. It was a little embarrassing, thinking back on it. 

“J-Jiro-san! I know we’ve only spoken during our singing lessons but I was hoping you and I could hang out at a separate time.” Izuku bowed his head, almost like he was asking for a favor. Jiro did her best to hold down her smile at the anxious boy’s antics. 

“Like a date?” 

“N-No! Not a date, just as friends! Regular friends! I was going to ask another person to come with us too. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable! I’m so sorry-” Izuku stopped rambling as Jiro couldn’t help but start laughing. His already red face grew hotter at the casual teasing, one he should’ve seen since coming to know her.

“I’m just kidding! Yes, we can hang out later. What were you thinking? And who else were you planning on inviting?”

“A-ah, my other teacher. Yaoyorozu-san is helping me learn some basic dancing skills, and she’s the same age as us. I was just thinking of going to a cafe, if that’s alright with you!” Izuku fiddled with his hands, the nervous energy dissipating at Jiro’s acceptance. 

“Cool, let me know when. I’ll be sure to go.” She said. Izuku was more than happy with her agreement. His first time really hanging with somebody since he was a kid, he couldn’t believe it. Usually Kacchan ruined his chances of friendship due to overly loud advertisements of his quirkless status. Izuku got used to not making friends over the years, but with Jiro and Yaoyorozu who aren’t at all exposed to Kacchan, maybe he could have a chance. 

Yaoyorozu was similar, in that her reaction was more like Izuku than it was Jiro’s. 

“S-Sure! I wouldn’t mind that.” A small red blush grew across her face, the tea cup she was holding shaking ever so slightly. Izuku still felt overall embarrassed, but it was less so as he had already done this once. Yaoyorozu was usually kind, if a little blunt in Izuku’s mistakes in dancing, so he didn’t expect anything too extreme of a reaction. 

They were sitting at a table, sipping tea after their day of lessons. Yaoyorozu made tea so Izuku felt somewhat more comfortable asking her about it. 

“Ok then, I also invited another friend, Jiro-san. She’s also been helping me with my singing lessons.” 

“Oh, I didn’t know you took singing lessons.” Yaoyorozu asked over her cup, the tea steaming in front of her face. 

“Y-Yeah, I’m planning to become a type of idol hero. So I wanted to learn some singing and dancing along with martial arts.”

“Are you planning on applying for UA?” 

“Yes! I’m planning to apply next year!” Izuku sat up a little straighter, the statement actually being said aloud made him feel a little bit more sure in what he was doing. Yaoyorozu gave him a smile. 

“Good, then I’ll be expecting you in class.”

Izuku looked at Yaoyorozu, who was already drinking her tea with her eyes closed. In his time at the dance studio, he never really got around to asking what her quirk was. It was obvious she had one, he didn’t she would hold herself the way she did if she didn’t have one. At least, he knew he didn’t. Her quirk must be a powerful one if she was so assured in her placement.

“Y-Yes!”

* * *

They met up on a cool sunday. Somehow, Izuku was able to calm down his nervous rambling over the phone to tell both Yaoyorozu and Jiro to meet up at a local cafe. 

Looking at the two, Izuku noted that Jiro was nervous when meeting Yaoyorozu. He supposed that she’s always like that with new people, if their first meeting was also any indication. Yaoyorozu, on the other hand, was in the same boat. While she held professionalism in front of Amagi-sensei, it seemed that she couldn't do it as tightly as she could when it was just them. She was calm, yes, but she had the barest of stutters. It was interesting to see this side of them.

“Ah, t-thank you two for coming out with me. I hope I didn’t inconvenience you.” Izuku felt his cheek warms, hoping his gratitude was effectively shown. The two girls relaxed at the familiar stutter and energy of Izuku, relaxing into their seats.

“It’s not a problem, mom said I should be going out more anyway,” Jiro smirked at Izuku. 

“Agreed, my mother was also excited to see me going out for something besides outside lessons or training.” Yaoyorozu smiled into her cup of tea. “I should be thanking you for inviting us out here on such a nice day.”

“It was my pleasure! I’ve never really been able to hang out outside of school like this so I really appreciate doing this with you two.” Izuku smiled wide causing Yaoyorozu and Jiro to witness the sparkling sun-like effect of Izuku’s full smile.

 _“So bright,”_ they both thought. With a smile like that, Yaoyorozu could believe Izuku’s dream of being an idol hero. They spoke quietly with each other after this, going back and forth with different topics. High school, specifically UA, came up after some time. 

“My parents are allowing me to go to UA with recommendations. I’ll be taking the recommendation exam instead of the usual exam they give to incoming students.” Yaoyorozu explained. Izuku wasn’t too surprised at this thought. He knew that the Yaoyorozu family was a big family of heroes and had many businesses to do with hero work and outside of that. It made sense for someone like Yaoyorozu to go UA with a recommendation. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is your quirk?” Jiro asked. Izuku couldn’t help but lean in closer, never having the bravery of asking what Yaoyorozu’s quirk was. 

“I don’t mind. It’s called creation,” Yaoyorozu then made a small matryoshka doll appear from her arm with a strange glow. “It allows me to create anything I want, aside from living things, as long as I know the atomic structure.” Izuku and Jiro gave a small round of applause at the powerful quirk. Izuku held himself back from bombarding Yaoyorozu with questions about it. He wasn’t sure if it would be ok to overwhelm her like that. 

“That’s a really strong quirk, Yaoyorozu-san.” Jiro commented

“Ah, Momo is just fine, Jiro-san. Same for you too, Midoriya-san.”

“Alright, then you two can call me just Kyoka.”

“M-Me too! Izuku is good!” 

“I’m sure he is.” Kyoka smirked at Izuku’s reddening face. Momo hid a giggle behind her tea cup.

“Kyoka-chan, what’re your plans then? Any schools you plan on going to?” The long-haired teen turned the question to Kyoka, who blinked at the sudden question. 

“Well, I’m not too sure. My parents are kind of wanting me to follow their footsteps and become a musician. Or really, anything to do with music. I like the idea but…” Kyoka trailed off a bit at the end. 

“But?” Izuku couldn’t help but prompt.

“But I’ve also thought about applying to UA. I’m just not too sure about how my parents will feel about that though. I like both music and heroes equally, so it’s left me with a hard decision to make.” Kyoka explained. Momo hummed at this.

“I-I’m sure your parents will support you in whatever you choose!” Izuku said. He didn’t think that Jiro-sensei would be negative in terms of hero work for Kyoka. He himself had told her that he wanted to enter UA with the hero course in mind and was supportive of him. As long as Jiro wanted to do it, then she’d let her go. 

“Ah, maybe.” Kyoka nodded her head at this, but with an air of disbelief. Izuku knew that the issue was something Kyoka had to confront on her own. 

“But what about you, Izuku-kun? You still plan to apply for UA, yes?” Momo asked. Izuku turned to answer her question when the cafe they were in began to shake. The matryoshka doll Momo had made clattered to the floor as did some other utensils that were sitting on the table. 

“Is it an earthquake?” Kyoka asked. Izuku stood up from the table and looked outside a nearby window. A black blur slammed onto the street next to the cafe, worsening the shaking and causing the girls to grab on to their chairs. The cafe workers were quick to evacuate the customers through a side door, away from the street and the impact. The dust settled outside revealing a man with an obvious mutation quirk, making appear almost rhinoceros-like. 

Momo grabbed Izuku by the wrist and led both him and Kyoka out the side entrance. The dust from the impact was still high in the air when they got outside, forcing a cough out of Kyoka. The three followed the cafe customers down the alleyway, rushing to get out of the dangerous situation. They were the last to leave the shop, so they were a bit behind the group. Momo stopped suddenly, causing the other two to bump into her. A burst of wind silenced any questions they had as whoever was attacking the area appeared from the dust cloud he made. 

At closer inspection, the rhinoceros-like figure was more monstrous up close. Parts of his scalp were missing, revealing the brain underneath. Two large unblinking eyes sat on the top of his head, allowing him to see beyond the horn that grew from his face. His already muscular and large body seem enormous in the tiny space of the alleyway. The shuddering gasp from Momo and Kyouka let Izuku know that he wasn’t the only one horrified by the beast. 

With a guttural cry, it raised it’s fist up and swung down at the floor, causing the concrete to splinter upward. Izuku pulled the girls back from the beast, heading back toward the mainstreet. They weren’t able to get too far before the creature jumped from the alleyway and caused the street to crack from the pressure. Izuku looked around and still had yet to notice a hero appear. He felt hands push him and Kyouka down as the beast lunged at the group. Momo was on the other side of the path of the creature’s lunge, having pushed them so they wouldn’t get hit. 

“Run!” Momo created grenades and threw them at the creature, causing a bright light that blinded the beast. It let out a roar that shook Izuku’s ribcage. Izuku rushed at Momo and pushed her to the side as the creature lunged to where she previously was. 

“We won’t be able to outrun that thing!” Kyoka yelled over the crashing of the thing. 

“We have to figure out a way to survive long enough for the pros to get here.” Izuku felt his hands shaking as he stared at the crater the creature left from his jump. 

“H-How? None of us have a strength-enhancing quirk to be able to fight that!” Momo said, shakily getting up from where she laid on the ground. 

Izuku didn’t have time to think of a response before the creature lunged at him again. This time, he couldn’t move as he saw the brain-exposed thing rush at him with speeds he knew he couldn’t match. In only a second of time, he felt too many emotions pass his chest and head. He just made new friends, he just started working on his dreams of being a hero. It couldn’t end like this!

**Fight back, Izuku!**

Momo was flung away from the impact spot where Izuku and the creature met. She landed next to Kyoka and they both drew in a shuddering breath at what seemed to be the end of their friend. The dust settled slowly, Izuku and the creature’s form being slowly revealed.

Izuku had both arms crossed in front of his face, shaking, as the creature’s fist pushed against him. An orange glow emerged from his chest, almost as bright as Momo’s grenade. It was obvious he was struggling against the mysterious creature.

“I-Izuku?” Kyoka whispered.

“Izuku!” a smaller green creature floated above the curly-haired boy’s head. “This is it!”

The glow that was shooting out his chest flowed back into his chest and encased his hold body. With a cry, Izuku released his arms, pushing the creature back a couple of feet. 

“Sing!” The creature yelled, ignoring the stares from the two girls on the floor. Izuku ignored the shaking of his hands and furrowed his brow as he stared at the creature. 

_Balwisyall Nescell Gungnir Tron_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. As I was writing this chapter I realized some of the things I need to improve to be a better writer so please be patient with my mistakes. I'm also struggling with just purely rewriting the entire story every time I work on a chapter so who knows what'll happen. Thank you for reading and please leave comments and reviews!


	3. Release, Full Throttle!

Momo and Kyoka shielded their eyes as a bright orange light flared from Izuku. As it dyed down, it slowly revealed Izuku in mysterious armor. 

Izuku held his fist in front of him, his body in the basic stance of what Satonaka-sensei taught him. He jolted out of it when he also became aware of the strange armor that covered his body. His clothes were gone, replaced with a body-suit that was colored black, white, and orange. Boots covered his feet with matching gloves and gauntlets over his hands, he flexed his fists to feel the snugness of the mysterious fabric. He raised his hands and felt the headphones that covered his ears, but still allowed him to hear everything around him. Two scarves flowed in the air behind Izuku’s head, connected to the fabric at his neck. 

Before Izuku could process anymore, the mysterious creature launched itself toward the curly-haired boy. Izuku jumped out of the way, fragments of debris flew in his face. Landing in front of the girls, he looked back to see they were slowly getting back up. 

“Izuku, the pros should be coming soon. They had to have noticed something by now.” Momo said to him. They were both covered in dust and debris, but ultimately safe and unharmed. 

“But they won’t be here in time. We need to distract it so no one else gets hurt.” Izuku stared at the new landing spot of the deadly creature. He was racked with shaking, clear nervousness and fear was showing across his body against an opponent who clearly could destroy him. But he had this mysterious armor that protected his arms from being crushed from the force. The indents from his feet from being pushed by the creature’s fists were still in the ground. He couldn’t let anything happen to his friends.

_I absolutely...won’t let go of this hand._

_After all, look, the heat humans make is so warm._

Music roared in his ears, Izuku felt himself focus on the creature and didn’t notice his own singing. Once more, it threw itself toward Izuku, quickly closing the distance between them. This time, Izuku stood his ground and crossed his arms against his chest. He was pushed back some distance, the ground teared up by his feet. The pistons attached to his boots reacted to the quick thought of kicking away the creature. They launched his leg faster than he could normally, kicking the side of the creature away from the group. 

Readjusting his stance, he kept his eyes on the dust cloud that rose from the creature landing. A dull ache throbbed in the leg. He heard the girls run off from the area. He focused back at the open-brained monster as it staggered from the plume of smoke. Saliva dripped from its mouth, it’s teeth bared. Izuku held back a flinch from looking at it’s blank eyes. He couldn’t fail from holding back this creature. 

Izuku went on the attack, launching himself at the enemy. Jumping up, he kicked out with both legs, hitting the creature in the chest. He flipped back midair before throwing a fist at it’s chest. The monster grabbed his hand and threw him off to the side. He clipped the side of a car, making him ricochet to the ground. Looking back up, he barely dodged as the creature punched a decent sized hole into the ground. Izuku felt a brief shudder go through him. The reality hit him all over again as he rolled and dodged out of the way of the mysterious creature’s fists. 

_Release, full throttle! Go on, with all of my heart._

Izuku jumped away, narrowly avoiding the crater the creature left as it slammed both fists down on the ground. Rolling into a kneeling position, he felt information flowing into his mind about how to use his armor. Crevices opened up in parts of the orange metal, allowing steam to rush out. Izuku felt the gauntlet on his arm open up so he grabbed it and pulled it back even further. He looked up toward the creature as it slowly turned it's body to Izuku. Debris and dust clung to the torn clothes it wore as it growled it's intention toward the boy. Izuku only narrowed his eyes in response.

The pistons stationed at his legs reversed themselves and shot a propulsion of air backwards, launching Izuku directly at the beast. To protect his friends, to protect the people he loves, he must fight. 

_Echo! The heartbeat in my chest! Beyond the future...  
_

A wall of fire burst between Izuku and the creature, interrupting his song and path of attack. Izuku rolled into another kneeling position before turning and being forced to look up from his shorter stature and saw all of the 6’4” glory of the No.2 hero, Endeavor. His signature frown was staring straight down at Izuku. 

“That’s enough from you. Let the real heroes handle this thing from here. Your friends are being handled by the EMTs, leave.” And with that short message, Endeavor crossed the wall of fire, leaving Izuku alone. The boy stood there for a few minutes before it all suddenly came back to him. He needed to find his friends. He never noticed the music that stopped when the hero interrupted them.

Sitting next to each other, the girls only had a couple of band-aids between the both of them.

“Momo! Kyoka!” Izuku ran toward the girls who sat surrounded by other injured civilians and EMTs. Suddenly, the armor that covered him went away in a flash of light. A soreness hit his body like never before and caused his legs to give out, making him hit the ground face first.

With a shout, the girls were quick to get to the curly-haired boy and turn him around, raising his body up. Izuku could barely move his body, completely sore. It almost felt too hard to raise his eyes toward the girls.

“Are you two ok?” 

“Are we ok? I think the question is if you're ok? We’re not the ones who fought the mutant body-builder!” Kyoka whisper-yelled. 

"We're fine, Izuku. The most we suffered were scrapes and bruises. You're the one who looks like they're in the worst position." Momo supplied. Izuku could barely nod at that. 

"I'm glad that you two are ok though. Don't worry about me, I'm fine!"

"Oh," Kyoka raised an eyebrow, "then stand up."

Izuku looked at Kyoka, then down to his feet and very quickly realized that he couldn't quite move.

"Oh, well, uh, I guess I’m a little less than ok." Izuku couldn't help but giggle. Though it seems like the girls weren't too far behind as they laughed with him. 

"Excuse me, but I do need to see if he's actually fine or not." A voice scared the group of three, almost causing Momo to drop Izuku in surprise. Kyoka was quick to keep him up from hitting the back of his head. Turning their heads fast, they saw a small elderly woman smiling at them.

"R-Recovery girl!" Izuku gasped in surprise, his position preventing him from properly freaking out. The older woman gave the three a small smile when he met her eyes. 

“Nice to meet you. If you don’t mind, I’d like to check to see if you are truly ok. After all, you just got out of a fight with an unknown.” She moved closer to Izuku, quickly going through a check-up of the curly-haired teen. 

“It seems the most you are dealing with right now are soreness, bruises, and possibly fractures. We would need to be at a hospital to check any further,” Recovery girl backed up from checking Izuku. She gave pieces of candy to each of them before continuing to speak. “But I would like to congratulate you on stalling the unknown long enough for someone like Endeavor to catch up. It had already taken down two other heroes before reaching this area.”

“Are they okay?” Momo couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes! Just injured at the moment. As you can see, the creature is very strong and it’s taking one of the top pros to stop it.” 

“Do you know what it is?” Kyoka was chewing the candy she just received, her wounds healing much faster than before. 

“We’re not entirely sure. I’ve heard they’re still investigating.” Recovery girl stopped speaking as EMTs got closer. Momo and Kyoka helped the EMT’s load Izuku onto the mat.

“We’ll visit you at the hospital, Izuku. Thank you for stopping the creature.” Momo said. Izuku felt his cheeks rise in color.

“N-No! I just did what anyone else would’ve done!” 

“You were the one who still did it. So thanks a bunch! But good luck on trying to calm mom and Inko-san from freaking out over you.” Kyoka smirked as Izuku’s previously red face turned pale.

They wouldn’t freak out too much, right?

* * *

Nevermind them freaking out, Izuku was the one freaking out on Kirira once he was alone at the hospital.

“What was that?” Izuku whisper-yelled at Kirara in his hospital room. The sprite was floating gently above the hospital bed, his transparent coloring more noticeable with the all-white hospital room. After dropping Izuku off in the room, the doctor’s then did their best to give him scans and a quick check up. Before they left, they had already told him that they got in contact with their mother and she should be on her way. 

“Well, I believe that was the dualium in your chest reacting with your determination. I wasn’t entirely sure what it would do or make when the moment came so the armor you made was kind of a surprise. Sensei Sensei should let me know what exactly it can do at some point.” He said casually, almost tired. 

“So you don’t know what that was? And why do you seem tired?” 

“I didn’t say that. What you made was something called a Symphogear. You see, dualium is a type of energy conduit. It takes the energy, AKA determination or sometimes called Idol Energy, and focuses it into itself. It then forms something that reflects who you are from within. That could’ve been any number of things.” Kirara said, answering a few questions and making many more. “As for why I am tired, you can take a guess as to who had to make sure the flow from the dualium to you was safe. There is a danger from just allowing that energy to go out with no direction.” 

“What kind of danger?” 

“What do you think happens when a large amount of powerful energy goes unchecked and allowed to just spread? It wouldn’t have hurt you but it could’ve hurt someone in the surrounding area. Us Kirara do a lot more than just float here and sparkle, you know.” Kirara grew slightly annoyed at the persistent questions, his fatigue becoming more and more obvious. 

“Anyhow, Sensei Sensei did let me know that there’s gonna be auditions for a large company soon in Musutafu that’s based in Akihabara. He said you should go and place an audition for it. It’s important.” The image of two glowing eyes filled Izuku’s head at Kirara’s final words. The importance of the audition was suddenly top priority in Izuku’s head. He knew that being an Idol Hero was more than just simply being a hero, but the idol part seemed further away than he initially assumed. 

Kirara floated gently into Izuku’s lap before disappearing back into his chest. With his source of answers gone, Izuku couldn’t help but think about what he’s supposed to do. His idea of being an idol hero was blurry at best so he wasn’t sure of it fully entailed. Too blinded by the fact that he could be given a chance to be a hero, he signed up to something he wasn’t fully sure he was going to do. Still, it wouldn’t be like him to go back on a promise either. He never gave the thoughts of being a hero, and now he had this new idea of being an idol. Maybe he should do the audition and see how it feels. 

His train of thoughts were interrupted by the urgent arrival of his mother. 

“Oh Izuku, are you okay?” Izuku panicked and was quick to reassure his mother of his conditions. With her fussing over Izuku and him doing his best to calm her down, they barely noticed the detective watching amusingly at the door. 

“Ah, pardon the intrusion but I do need to see if the patient could answer some questions of mine.” Izuku’s mom seemed to jump a foot in the air before apologizing for not noticing him.

“It’s alright, you were preoccupied by your son’s safety. It’s understandable.” The detective soothed his mother. He then turned to Izuku, “my name is Tsukauchi Naomasa, I hope it’s alright if I ask you some questions about the incident.”

“S-Sure!” Izuku gave the detective a retelling of the events. He held down the shudders at remembering the open brain of the creature and did his best not to show his discomfort. 

“And what was that armor you had?” Tsukauchi paused in his writing, looking expectantly at Izuku. 

“A-Ah, it’s a part of my quirk.” Izuku stuttered out. The detective hummed as he wrote this information down. 

“All right then, I’ll be heading back to the station. Thank you for all your help. While normally you would be in trouble with illegal use of your quirk, the police are willing to look the other way as your quirk use was both in self defense and was able to stop a strange enemy.”

“Do you know what that thing was?” Izuku couldn’t help but ask. 

“Unfortunately, I can’t give out information about it. We would appreciate it if you kept it under wraps as well.” Tsukauchi smiled at the mother and son before quietly exiting the room. Izuku stared at his hands as he soaked the very little information given to him. The fussing of his mother turned into background noise as the events of the day caught up to him. 

Inko huffed but smiled as she saw her son slowly drifting to sleep. While she was worried about her son’s health, she was also glad that he was making friends again. Despite what the end of the day held, she knew that he went to go meet with friends. It’s been years since he used to go and play with Kacchan, so she was glad when the noticeably depressed air he used to hold was now lighter. He sat up straighter and smiled a bit more. Her son was healing, one way or another.

* * *

Izuku threw himself into training. While he understood that gungnir, as what Kirara had later told him was the name for the armor, could help in a pinch, he knew that he couldn't rely on it completely. Satonaka-sensei was happy to help, unafraid to offer up a controlled but amped up training that helped him progress. 

Kyoka and Momo were the same, especially when learning about the possible audition coming up. Kyoka and Jiro-sensei were able to help him figure what that was about. 

“Oh, for the AKB0048 small group auditions?” Kyoka asked from behind her tea cup. They were discussing why Izuku suddenly had more energy than usual in his practices and he brought up that he heard of the auditions coming to Musutafu. Today, Jiro-sensei was out for a sudden meeting with another client, so Kyoka stepped up to help Izuku with his current lesson. 

“AKB0048?”

“You really haven’t heard of them? They’re an all-girl idol group based in Akihabara. They have multiple smaller departments both in Japan and across the world.” Unbeknownst to Kyoka, Izuku froze up when he realized Sensei Sensei told him to join an all-girl idol group.

“But it’s interesting because the newest auditions in Musutafu and a couple of other places are going to allow all genders to audition. It’s the first time they’ve done it but I guess they’re spreading out a bit more since more and more girls are studying to be heroes than idols.” Izuku relaxed in his seat. He didn't know what he was going to do if they still only accepted girls. 

“Are they really popular?” Izuku couldn’t help but ask, showing his lack of knowledge concerning idols. 

“Hella popular. They’re one of the biggest idol groups out there and were able to survive in the entertainment industry despite the rise of heroes. Did you know one of their most popular idols was also a hero when she wasn’t performing?” Kyoka explained.

“Really? Who?” Izuku leaned forward in his seat. So someone did do what he was trying to do now. 

“Maeda Atsuko, or just Acchan, was an idol during the beginning of the quirk era. It’s said she had a quirk that allowed herself to glow on stage, but when she was a hero she could control light.” Kyoka pulled up images of a purple haired woman wearing what looked like an idol costume blocking debris with a shield of light.

**Acchan…**

Kyoka was unaware of the stiffening of Izuku’s spine as he heard Kirara longingly say the girl’s name. 

“There hasn’t really been a successful idol hero like Acchan since her, but there have been a good number of smaller ones. Acchan was the only one who was a hero and the center nova,” Izuku raised his eyebrows and Kyoka only sighed before continuing. “The center nova is basically the best of the best in a group. The current center nova is Chieri Sono. She has a type of light beam quirk.” 

“Do they have to fight? I noticed Acchan protecting someone from debris.”

“Not necessarily, but I heard the trainees receive combat training because villains often attack concerts too. So it makes sense that the members have quirks they use to fight back.” 

“O-Oh, interesting.” 

“Not many of them are heroes though. Idols who are also heroes tend to be solo so the group mainly focuses on idol work. Acchan was different because she was in the group and was one of the strongest heroes at the time. She set idols apart from heroes because while she believed heroes kept people safe, idols kept people’s hope safe. She got a lot of flack for it, but a lot more people agreed with her.” Kyoka said, finishing her cup of tea. 

“I’m going to be right back, though. Mom should be on her way back too.” She said, getting up from her seat. Izuku nodded and held his cooling cup of tea tightly. 

“Is that why Sensei Sensei wants me to audition for the group?” Izuku whispered to his chest. Slowly, Kirara poked his way out of Izuku.”

“Yes,” Kirara agreed after a moment of silence, “Sensei Sensei wants you to learn from AKB0048 before you head off to UA. You aren’t the first deal he made.”

“Was Acchan someone he made a deal with?”

“Yes. The beginning of the quirk era was a dark one. There was so much confusion and fear surrounding anger. He asked Acchan to become a beacon of hope during dark times in hopes that she would be able to keep the hope alive.” Kirara floated in the air, his familiar green glow pulsing slowly.

“Sensei Sensei didn’t make the deal with you just because. Something is coming Izuku, and he needs help from someone like you to deal with it.”

“But why me? And what’s coming?” 

“Every person Sensei Sensei made a deal with has had one thing in common.” Kirara floated on top of Izuku’s head, his glow becoming almost blindingly bright. “They believed in hope, and they believed in people.”

“Something is coming that threatens humanity and Sensei Sensei believes you have the power to put a stop to it. Learn and grow, Midoriya Izuku. Never give up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, Izuku wields gungnir. The first song he sings is Gekisou Gungnir, since I thought it made a bit of sense for his first song and for his new friends. It actually was a bit of a inner debate on which song would be his first, as I wanted it to make sense with where he is mentally and with his friends. I feel like writing this is very much like driving in heavy fog, no clue where the ending is. Probably doesn't help that I'm also writing other stories along with this one. 
> 
> It also feels quite strange to be laying down the seeds for world building and pieces of lore to be further discussed later. I hope I can do myself justice. 
> 
> Anyway, thank y'all for the lovely comments. They do help with motivation and providing with helpful ideas to flesh out this story. Please leave comments and reviews as we go further along, I appreciate every single one.


	4. In Your Position...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, I've officially changed the title to "Scattered Clouds of Dust." The original concept of this fic was meant to be more drabble-esque in that it was more based on romance. Mainly Shouto/Izuku. But, as I wrote this fic it became more of a series of sorts. I might add the romance later, maybe a different pairing depending on how I characterize folks and the response I get. Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> Formerly known as "To Catch A Falling Star"

After that more-or-less haunting warning from Kirara, it felt like time passed quickly to the eventual day of auditioning. 

Izuku was able to look up a flier for the audition. The paper showed what Kyoka helped later identify as Chieri Sono on the cover in what looked like a stage costume. ‘AKB0048 Internships available’ was on the top with details listing a phone number with questions and the studio in which they were doing auditions in. Looking at the bright blue hair of the Center Nova and the way it felt like she saw straight through Izuku, even on paper, it made sense how popular she became. 

The days approaching the audition were nerve-wracking, the idea of singing in front of others and any other trial they might put him through was concerning. But his teachers had full confidence in him, apparently. 

“You’ll do fine, Izuku. If you could fight that weird thing, I think you can handle the auditions.” Kyoka said. Izuku and the girls were eating lunch together the day before the audition. Izuku came to them in a nervous bundle, him spilling how he felt unsure of how he was going to do in his audition. 

“You’ve been working extremely hard in our practices as of late. Soon, you would have to have started paying for the more professional courses for the level you were approaching. Amagi-Sensei also tells me your combat training with Satonaka-san has also been progressing extremely well.” Momo mentioned, an encouraging look on her face. Izuku held his cup to his face, the steam allowing him to ignore the reddening of his face and ears from Momo’s words. 

“I think you should definitely try it and see what happens. The worst they could say is no thanks.” Kyoka gave him a soft smile. The time they’ve spent together has allowed Kyoka to see that even if Izuku tends to hide behind a shy and nervous exterior, he still had a determination that matched any known pro hero. 

Izuku mumbled a response causing the girls to share a glance. 

“I’ve never asked but...why do you even want to be an idol?” Kyoka tilted her head at him, trying to catch his eyes. The pit that’s been growing since the hospital darkened in Izuku’s gut. Why did he want to be an idol? For a promise to almost alien-like beings? That’s not a good reason, or at least a reason that’ll make him put his all into it. Kirara told him that Idols and Heroes weren’t so different. He himself thought the same. 

Why did he want to sing?

“...All Might is my favorite hero, you know.” Izuku slowly lowered his tea cup back into the small round plate on the table. “I used to watch his videos on the computer in my apartment. The way he would smile despite the carnage around him gave me something.” His heart hammered in his chest at the memory of the smiling hero who saved people. 

“Then, people thought I was quirkless since it never showed.” Momo and Kyoka shared a glance at each other. Quirkless, Izuku said. But the battle with the creature said otherwise. 

“A quirkless hero wasn’t something that existed. It wasn’t something that society allowed as it would crumple everything quirks made real.” The phantom feeling of burns heated across his body. A reminder. A threat.

“But idols...they didn’t need quirks.” Memories came back of a time before. He used to sing to his mother, often, as a kid. He remembered the way she smiled at him, like there wasn’t a thing to worry about. He loved that feeling, of taking away the evidence of stress and worry out of his mother’s face. He knew that they would return, no matter how long he sang. But in that small moment, everything was okay.

“All idols need are their song, and their heart. Heroes give people hope by keeping them safe. Away from harm’s way. But Idols? They give people hope by keeping their hearts safe from darkness. And maybe that’s all I wanted. To keep people’s hope alive. I think that’s why I sing.” Izuku smiled at Kyoka and Momo.

Kyoka smiled wide as she looked at the boy across from her. The way his eyes seemed to glow as he explained idols to her, as if she didn’t agree with him. She knew both her and Momo felt the same thing watching Izuku glow with promise. And she promised to herself she would help anyway she can. 

“I want to be an idol, if not to show that I’m more than just quirkless, but to show that people can be saved without a quirk.”

* * *

Of course, this was all easier said than done. Despite the bravado Izuku showed Kyoka and Momo, it all disappeared as he approached the desk in front of him.

“H-Hello! I’m here for the auditions.” Izuku said, tugging on his athletic pants. The woman handling the desk turned toward him and Izuku immediately felt a sensation that wanted to pull him closer to the girl. As soon as he made eye contact, the sensation went away.

“Sorry about that! My quirk tends to activate at the oddest of times when I’m not paying attention. What’s your name, sweetie?” The woman said, her purple/pink pony tail swaying with her head movements. 

“M-Midoriya! Midoriya Izuku.” Izuku felt blood rush into his cheeks as the clerk looked for a piece of paper from a stack behind the desks. She gave a hum of satisfaction when she found his name and gave him a piece of paper with the number 9 on it. The curly-haired boy stuck the paper on his chest when he figured it was a sticker.

“Ah, here we go. You’ll be in room 4. Good luck, sweetie!” She winked at him while pointing to the door with a large 4 hung on the front. Izuku could only nod as he scrambled, pretending he didn’t hear the woman faintly giggle as he entered the room. 

The room was a standard dance studio. Laminated wood floors with a whole wall covered with a mirror. Various other people, either the same or around Izuku’s age, were stretching or lounging. Izuku felt his heart rabbit in his chest before taking a step forward. Of course, even life wouldn’t let it be that easy for him. 

Tripping on absolutely nothing, Izuku closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable slam of his face on the floor, only to land on a not-entirely-soft-but-softer-than-laminated-wood-floors surface. Izuku began sneezing and looked to see that he landed on a patch of mushrooms.

“S-Sorry about that! These were the only mushrooms I could think of in such a short notice.” The curly-haired boy looked up to see a girl with a brown-haired bob that covered her eyes. She seemed to be a little nervous looking at him.

“N-No! Thank you for cushioning my fall like that. Are mushrooms a part of your quirk?” He got up from the small mushroom patch that was growing straight from the laminate. The girl kneeled down and began picking the mushrooms and putting them into a small bag she carried. 

“Yes! My body can release mushroom spores that grow quickly depending on the humidity of the room. Since it’s a dance studio, plenty of sweat has filled the air for my giant puffballs to grow nicely enough to soften your fall. I didn’t think it would be much good luck if you fell on the day of the audition, or if I just watched it happen.” The girl finished picking the mushrooms and smiled at Izuku, her bangs moving to reveal the cross-shape pupil.

“Oui! Your hero of the day, she was quick on her feet to save you from the worst of fates!” A blond-haired teen popped up between the pair, causing them to almost jump a foot into the air. “Bad luck on auditions.” He then winked at them both. 

“Aoyama-kun, maybe you shouldn’t just pop up like that when people are already nervous.” A voice laughed next to them. Izuku spun his to the source and was confronted with a taller black-haired teen with shark-like teeth, who was also right next to a smiling girl whose skin was pink.

“Maybe we should introduce ourselves, since we’re already scaring people now.” The pinkette laughed. “I’m Ashido Mina, but Mina is just fine.”

“I’m Kirishima Eijirou. I’m mainly here to support Mina here, though I hear the auditions were tough.” The black-haired teen smiled wide as Ashido clapped him on the shoulder, smiling just as wide.

“Ah! And I am the sparkling Aoyama Yuga!” The now-identified blond twirled in place as he pointed at Izuku and the mushroom girl.

“Right, uhm, I’m Komori Kinoko. Nice to meet all of you.” She gave a low bow at the other four people in the small group. Izuku flushed and quickly bowed back.

“S-Sorry, I’m Midoriya Izuku. Thanks for saving me!” He slowly rose back up and saw everyone smiling at him, his heart returning back to it’s formerly rapid pace.

“Okay everyone, please line up side-by-side. The audition is starting soon.” From the door, the desk clerk clapped her hands as she gave instructions. Komori gave a slight gasp at Izuku’s side when they fully lined up next to each other. Izuku kept his eye on her and the strict-looking older blonde woman next to her. 

“As some of you may know, my name is Shinoda Mariko the 8th. Me and a couple of others are going to help Tsubasa-san audition the groups today. As you know, this audition is for the internship program that AKB0048 created to help young people explore their abilities as entertainers in today’s society, whether that be someone who wants to be an idol, a hero, or both!” Shinoda then clapped her and interlaced her fingers together.

“Remember, we are just here to help you succeed and be the best you can be. Now, I’ll give the floor to Tsubasa-san as she explains what’s going to be asked of you all today.” She nodded at the blonde-haired woman next to her who stepped up with a stern look on her face.

“My name is Katagiri Tsubasa and I am the producer and manager of AKB0048. If you pass, you will most likely be seeing me often. Today, we’ll be asking you to go through two simple tasks in groups of five for this audition. The first is a combat simulation where we see where you are at in terms of fighting ability. The second task is a singing and dancing performance of the song Beginner.” With both tasks listed, the other auditionees grew either nervous or excited. Izuku easily landed in the nervous section as Katagiri-san continued speaking.

“Whether being able to pass as respectable and kind or to give a performance that people can remember forever, we are here to help you be able to achieve a higher level of understanding of these things. If you pass, that is.” The light reflected off the lens of her glasses, making her seem all the more imposing to Izuku who just wanted to hide from her sight. 

“Now, we will prepare for the first task, the combat portion. For now, group together and introduce yourselves. I wish you the best of luck.” With that last message, Katagiri turned and left the room, Shinoda following quickly behind, giving the group a quick wink. 

Izuku felt himself relax as the two women left the room. Everyone seemed to breathe out in unison, the nerves getting to all of them.

“Wow, she had such a strong presence.” Mina laughed, Kirishima smiling along with her. Komori clasped her own hands in nervousness, and Izuku couldn’t help but feel the same. “Well since we all know each other already, why don’t we stick together for the rest of the audition?” Kirishima said, putting his hands behind his head. 

“Oui, you all dazzle so beautifully, though not as much as me!” Aoyama said, a sparkle in his eye. Everyone turned away from him. Izuku brought his hands together and addressed the group.

“D-Does anyone mind if we all said our abilities just so we have a feel for what we’re working with?” 

“Definitely! I have an acid quirk and have been taking breakdancing classes for years.” Mina allowed a bit of silver goop to appear on her palm. “I can shoot this stuff from my feet and my hands but I can’t use it for too long.”

“I have a hardening quirk.” Kirishima shifted his arm to a more angular form. “I can take a lot of hits, but not too much. Also Mina has been helping me with dancing for awhile now.” 

“Hello! I have the wonderful quirk naval laser! I can shoot a laser out of his stomach, but unfortunately if I use it too long I will get horrible stomach pains. I’ve also taken multiple dance classes since I was young.” Aoyama winked at Midoriya, who was confused on how to react but blushed all the same. 

“I-I have a mushroom quirk. I can release specific mushrooms spores from my body that can grow anywhere. But it’s harder if the room isn’t humid.” Komori nodded at Izuku, who already experienced the quirk at work. “I’ve also been taking dance classes since I was young.”

“Okay, I have a quirk that lets me form a type of armor. It boosts my overall abilities and gives me some others. I think I have a time limit though and I get extremely tired afterward.” Izuku thought back to his fight with the mysterious creature. Some of the doctors mentioned that his exhaustion was most likely caused by his quirk-use, so he could only assume that the symphogear is what caused it. Not only that, but Izuku didn’t remember manually taking it off or even thinking about turning it off. It just went away on its own. Something he and Kirara needed to work on if the symphogear was going to be an effective weapon. “I’ve also been taking martial arts classes and beginner dance classes.”

“Well, I guess that makes Mina-san, Kirishima-san, and I as the front line fighters while Komori-san and Aoyama-san can help from afar. Depending on how we fight, we could develop a strategy as we go.” Izuku went on to ask more questions from the other four on the exact limits of their quirks and abilities. With a subject he was more familiar with, his confidence with the audition grew. Maybe he could pass this.

* * *

They were fighting robots. As if life couldn’t have given him something easy. 

“During the internship, AKB0048 will work with the Hero Public Safety Commission to allow temporary quirk use during concerts. This allows all of you to freely use your quirks to defend the attendees of the concerts if there is a raid or attack. And you should expect it.” Katagiri pushed up her glasses again. “As some of you might know, the villain organization DES has made it known that their goal is to destroy idols and entertainment as a way to destroy people’s hope. Both interns and members of AKB0048 fight against DES so that they don’t harm either attendees of the concert or the performers. While they may aim to kill, we do not. Remember, we are fighting to preserve and protect, never destroy.”

Izuku could only nod. He had heard vague references of the DES organization from the hero forums he uses from time to time. An organization made not too long after the formation of AKB0048 who could be found in most of their concerts. It’s been said they tend to strike when the concerts are closer to towns or cities with a lower hero population, so it was sort of rare to see them in Musutafu. Then again, AKB0048 are only recently getting a foothold in Musutafu too. 

“The building we are using for this audition has allowed us to use their lower levels to hold the combat part of the auditions. I will call the number each group has assigned themselves into the room and we will begin the simulation. First up, group 9.” She turned quickly, expecting the group to follow.

Izuku glanced at the others before following Katagiri into the hallway. She led them through a deep staircase that leads into the basement. 

“We do have medics on hand, but please do make sure not to harm yourselves too much. This is merely a test to see where you are at combat-wise. The real test is the performance later today. Please, save your strength for that.” Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, Katagiri-san opened the door to reveal a large empty room, concrete pillars in the corners for the building’s structure. In the center of the room were three large humanoid shaped robots.

“These will be your opponents. Remember, you are aiming to incapacitate.” Katagiri left to a side door, leading the group’s eyes to an obvious one-way mirror. An alarm buzzed and the robot’s singular eye lit up red. 

“Begin!”

“Kirishima-san, cover for the right one. Mina-san, the left. I can head for the center. Komori-san and Aoyama-san, provide back up when you can.” Izuku ran toward his target, his two teammates giving shouts of agreement as they went to theirs. Earlier when discussing their quirks, the group had come to a unanimous agreement that Izuku would lead them into the battle.

“You just have the energy for it, man. I think you’ll do great!” Kirishima clapped Izuku in the back when he started to object. Izuku rubbed his hands together in nervousness, not quite agreeing with the assessment. 

“I think you’ll be good at it.” Komori stated quietly. They met eyes and Izuku could only nod.

Izuku jerked to the right as the robot punched forward. He got up close and wrapped his right leg behind his opponents. He pushed forward and tripped the robot backwards onto the floor. He heard the sound of what he assumed was Aoyama’s laser shooting, if the flash of light was any indication. The sound of another robot hitting the floor signaled a successful fall. He looked to the singular eye of the robot and noticed it had turned blue and stopped moving.

He got up and noticed Mina struggling to push her robot down. As he turned to help, he only yelped as he saw Komori deliver a surprisingly fast drop kick. When the girls gave each other a high-five, Izuku smiled at them.

“Yield! Group 9 passes the combat portion.” Katagiri announced the system in the room. The group looked toward each other and smiled. 

* * *

The next task of the auditions was the performance. When the group had started relaxing in the original room when Shinoda had returned with two other women.” 

“Hello everyone. As some of you may know, these two are-”

“Hi everyone! It’s Oshima Yuko the 9th! Me and Takamina-chan are helping everyone quickly learn the moves for Beginner.” A girl with a side ponytail excitedly told them. The girl with green hair who stood next to her just sighed as she watched her partner yell. 

“Well not all the moves. Hello everyone, I’m Takahashi Minami the 5th. The performance part of the audition is mainly going to be singing, but we will help you with the dance moves. Since today was only the first part of the audition, we’re going to spend the rest of the day learning the dance moves. Tomorrow, when everyone returns, your groups will fully perform the song and we will see who will be allowed into the internship.”She smiled at everyone, her confidence almost made it seem like she was glowing. It was the same with the orange-brown haired woman, they had a certain shine to them. 

“Good luck everyone!” Shinoda clapped her hands again. Since there were only three groups of five, it made sense for there to be three teachers. Takahashi headed their way.

“Hi everyone, I hope you’re ready. While the dance moves aren’t particularly difficult, it’s learning to be aware of the other members of the group while being aware of yourself is the problem.” She said smiling. Komori nearly dropped her bag as she bowed at the girl, the others following her lead.

“I’m a big fan of yours Takahashi-san! Thanks for teaching us.” Takahashi smiled at Komori’s confession. 

“If this goes correctly, I’ll be a big fan of yours too.” She laughed at the blush rising in Komori’s face. Izuku could only smile in anticipation. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I was writing this, I realized it was going to be a hefty chapter. So I decided to split it in two. This allows me to give a little more information on both ends. I hope this works out the way I plan. This chapter took longer cause I was finally able to come up with future plot points, so do forgive me about the timing.
> 
> As we get closer to more of the AKB0048 plot points, I'll introduce more of the AKB0048 characters. This does take place a year before the UA entrance exams, so maybe this story will have two parts in total. This year being the first and than the UA years being second. But who knows. Either way, It's been fun writing this so far. 
> 
> Oh, also, as for Izuku's abilities, it's all still up in the air for me. I guess as I go along the facts for it will solidify. I also hope I don't confuse the facts in this fic with facts with another fic, since I am planning to publish a couple more BNHA fics. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you'll leave a comment and/or review. I really do appreciate them.


	5. ...Set!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2! Enjoy!

The practice was intense. Izuku felt all of his clothes stick like a second layer of skin from the sweat. 

They had spent the rest of the day practicing the dance moves. Takahashi-san was right in that while the dance rooms weren’t complicated, they did it repeatedly for hours. Granted, Satonaka-Sensei would do the same thing and train him so hard that he could barely stand, but dance moves were something else. Komori agreed with him, having the same amount of experience dancing as he did. Mina, Kirishima, and Aoyama seemed just fine, which was a little unfair in his opinion. But it’s no one’s fault but his own for starting so late.

“Well you only recently started your dancing lessons anyway. Not nearly enough time to be on top of things like those three.” Kirara supplied quietly, floating a little above Izuku’s head. They were currently walking home from the train station, the evening sun giving a soft yellow glow in the neighborhood. Trudging down the neighborhood, clearly exhausted, he didn’t even notice the fast approaching figure.

“Oi, Deku!” Izuku was pushed into the alleyway, his head banging onto the concrete wall. His vision blurred at the sudden adrenaline combined with his exhaustion and head injuries disoriented him. 

“Where the hell have you been? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you disappearing everyday after school. You're still playing hero?” Kacchan’s familiar voice growled in front of him. Izuku hasn’t really interacted with Kacchan since before the incident with Sensei Sensei. Somehow, he’s been able to avoid him at every turn. It shouldn’t surprise him so much to see his luck finally run out. 

“I-I haven’t been doing anything. J-Just let me go, please,” Izuku mumbled, wanting to melt into the wall from Kacchan’s snarl. 

“What do you think you’re playing at? I’ve told you already, you’ll never be a hero. You’re quirkless, useless.” Kacchan continued to go off on a tirade of degradation. Every word was spat at Izuku with vitriol, he couldn’t help but push himself further into the wall. He wasn’t sure what to do, he couldn’t run as he was trapped in a corner. 

“You don’t even have any friends!” Kacchan growled at him, the familiar sound of small explosions in his hand accompanied him.

But that wasn’t true, was it? 

He heard the sound of Kirara fluttering in his ear, the sound comforting as it came from deep within his heart. Without any notice, Kirara phased out of his chest, distracting Kacchan enough for Izuku to push himself from the wall.

“Y-You’re wrong.” Izuku felt his hands shake at his side. He clenched them to his chest, hoping they would stop.

“What’d you say?” Kacchan growled. 

“You’re wrong!” This time he yelled, causing Kacchan to flinch back at the unexpected volume. 

“Maybe I don’t have a quirk or-or anything that makes me special. But that won’t stop me!” Izuku felt the anger, his passion, flood his head. There were people like Momo, Kyoka, Jiro-Sensei, Satonaka-Sensei, Amagi-san, even his group at the audition. They were all believing in him.

“I’ll still do my best to be something great. Whether that’s being a hero or something else entirely. But I’m not useless, and I won’t give up just because you told me too!” Kirara fluttered above his head, a green sun that began to shine above him. 

“I’ll do everything I can to prove you wrong.” Izuku pointed his finger straight at Kacch- no, Katsuki’s face. “I’ll make you look at me in my eyes and prove you wrong!” 

Katsuki grit his teeth but before he could start to yell back, the light Kirara was emitting shined even brighter, temporarily blinding the blond. Izuku saw his chance and booked it from the situation. He ignored the tears that he forced to stay in his eyes as he ran away from his former friend. Kirara giggled all the way home.

* * *

**I aim for...the sky of fiction...**

“Tsubasa-sama, the holy lyrics!” a girl in a miko outfit cries out to Tsubasa-san, who was already walking between the two lines of girls. She looks up toward the two shining lights as it repeats the same line over and over.

“Those interns...something is coming.” she whispered to herself, as she stares in wonder at the blazing lights.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky the day of the 2nd half of the auditions. Izuku was back in a new set of athletic clothes as he stretched in the dance studio. The confrontation with Katsuki was still in his mind. Maybe it was because he was surrounded by people like Momo and Kyoka that he realized how immensely...childish Katsuki was. The way he was adamant on Izuku’s uselessness despite him now being able to hold his own in Satonaka-sensei’s class. Or how quickly singing and dancing came to him. So he wasn’t useless by any means, so why did he hold onto that so much? What did Izuku even d-

“Hey! You look gone, bro.” A hand that accompanied the unexpected comment slapped him on the back. Izuku yelped and turned quickly to see Kirishima looking down from where he was standing. 

“Huh?” Kirishima laughed at Izuku’s intelligent response.

“Dude, you gotta get your head in the game. If you’re so distracted you do something like that, you’re not gonna be able to give it your all!” He smiled wide, his shark-like teeth glinting in the light. Izuku hummed a soft sound of agreement. Kirishima felt his smile slowly fall off his face when he noticed that Izuku was barely paying attention. He quietly sat himself down next to the curly-haired boy and took a more direct approach and poked the boy’s cheek. Izuku’s eyes widened and turned toward the black-haired teen who was staring at him more intensely.

“Hey, are you okay? I know we don’t know each other that much but it really seems like there’s something buggin’ you.” Kirishima’s familiar smile was nowhere to be seen, too busy focusing on Izuku. Izuku turned back and clicked the toes of his shoes together, thinking to himself.

“I just...I had someone confront me recently. They told me that I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do. And I...I’m just not sure how to feel about it,” Izuku mumbled.

“Well, what are you feeling?”

“I feel angry. This entire time they’ve seen me as weak and defenseless. And I believed them for a while too. But I’m here at this audition. And I’ve been doing so well in my martial arts classes. So I’m clearly not useless or defenseless. So I guess I’m also conflicted about it all.” Izuku rubbed his face in his hands, the frustration slowly building. He felt a warm hand rub his shoulders down, the tension slowly leaking.

“Honestly, I think you shouldn’t think about it too much. In the end, you proved them wrong anyway by taking all these classes and doing all these things anyway. At this point, you already did what they thought you couldn’t do, ya know?” Kirishima smirked at Izuku when the boy stared at him in surprise. “As manly as your thinking usually is, you might be overthinking this one. You already won, right? At this point, you should do everything for yourself.”

Izuku stared at Kirishima before looking back at his own hands. He was right, in a way. He proved to people like Momo and Kyoka that he wasn’t useless. A useless person wouldn’t be able to pass the first part of the audition with a random group like he did. A useless person wouldn’t have fought off that creature from hurting his two newest friends. Even so.

“Even if it’s all for myself now, I still can’t help but want to prove him wrong.” Izuku flexed his hands. Izuku will never know if Katsuki will ever change his mind about him. So he shouldn’t worry about it. But, that doesn’t mean he can’t prove him wrong along the way. “I’ll do this for myself. But I can still do it and make a statement. Right?” 

Kirishima only smiled wide. “Now that’s a manly spirit!” He clapped his back again, forcing the air out of him. Izuku only giggled when his breath finally returned.

“Kirishima-san, are you really only here to support Mina-san?” Izuku couldn’t help but ask. Kirishima looked surprised at the question before looking up at the ceiling lamp. He laid on his back and rested his hands behind his head.

“Well, at the beginning when Mina mentioned it, yeah. She said she really liked AKB0048 and said they kind of reminded her of heroes in a way. I didn’t really get it at first.” Kirishima closed her eyes and smiled. “So I came here and didn’t know what to expect.” Kirishima turned his head and Izuku followed his gaze to Mina showing Komori one of the dance moves from Beginner. 

“I realized how important this is for some people. And when we got back to her house yesterday to hang out, she showed me some videos of some of their performances.” He turned back toward Izuku. “Did you know? Last year they had a concert in Akihabara that was attacked by major DES forces. They were calling for evacuation of the audience and the members due to being overwhelmed.” Izuku blinked in surprise. He hadn’t heard of the event, granted he was still catching up with everything AKB0048 related. 

“Most of them had evacuated, except for a few who were holding the forces back. But that was when Oshima Yuko the 9th stepped in. The video showed her singing loudly as she swung back against the DES. It was amazing to see, it was like she was a star. They said that was the moment that people realized she had the ability to become center nova. But that concert injured her and she was out of commission for a while.” Kirishima frowned at the memory, but slowly his grin returned. “When asked why she fought back despite clearly knowing she wasn’t going to win, she told the reporters that she had a duty to Akihabara, and that she couldn’t live with herself unless she tried anyway. To live without regrets. Like Crimson Riot. That’s why she did the things she did. That’s why I do the things I do.” He sat back up from lying on the floor and gave a thumbs up to Izuku.

“So I guess I’m staying for myself at this point. I want to see how Oshima-san learned how to be manly like that with AKB0048. That’s what I hope they teach me.” Kirishima smiled wide, his crinkling at the width of his smile. Izuku blinked at the conviction in Kirishima’s speech, a soft smile growing on his lips. 

Clapping interrupted the boys from their reverie. Turning their heads, they saw a woman with long bright blue hair in a high ponytail wearing what looked like a stage outfit for AKB0048 performances. Everyone in the room seemed to hyperfocus on her, even Izuku’s eyes widened. It was the current center nova.

“Hello everyone, if you don’t know me, I’m Sono Chieri of the AKB0048 group NO NAME. Congratulations on making it this far in the auditions. Today, your groups will be performing a rendition of Beginner. But, as a treat, my team will give you a small performance of Beginner. Just as a way for everyone to see how we perform as a group up close and person. Come in, everyone.” With that, the door to the dance studio opened and walked in 8 other girls.

Each girl seemed to have a shine of their own. Izuku remembered when Kyoka would hammer the names of the members of AKB0048, so he recognized each girl. Sonata smiled at everyone and waved while Shinoda and Kanata giggled at the girls actions. Makoto seemed a little nervous but mostly confident while Yuka and Orine helds hands as they walked in line with the girls. When the girls stood on either side of Chieri, 4 on each side, they stood straight. Izuku looked at each girl but stopped at Maeda Atsuko the 14th, AKA Acchan. Her eyes were perfectly calm and open, like the ocean. She seemed to sense that he was looking at her and gave him a small smile and a wave. Izuku couldn’t help but give a small wave back.

“Please, sit back and enjoy our performance.” Acchan said, all 9 girls bowing at the groups watching them. 

_ In your position, set! _

The pure force of their performance almost blew everyone’s hair back, Izuku felt his curls tickling his face as they waved in the air. The energy in the room seemed to change completely as the girls smoothly went from one dance move to the other. Each had individual energies and glow that seemed to fuse together into one huge wall of pure light that seemed to call on Izuku's heart and mind.

_ “Is this what it means to be an idol?”  _ Izuku thought to himself, the ocean of emotion being thrown at him through song and dance. He looked closer and saw kirara floating around the girls, especially bright around Acchan and Chieri. The Kirara seemed to sing with them, their light brightening as the girls performed, their own determined energies swirling together. Izuku barely noticed his own Kirara leave his chest and sparkle brightly among the stars his fellow kirara made around the girls. Acchan smiled brightly as his own kirara joined next to her own, dancing. 

The light swirled and spread itself across the group and the room, forming like stars of the night sky. As the girls finished the last notes of the song, the lights seemed to burn themselves lovingly into Izuku’s eyes. The pure, unbridled light from their performance was immense and Izuku found himself speechless.

_ “How are we supposed to compare to that?”  _

* * *

“We’re not expecting you to be on that level at the moment. However, you will get close in this internship. As this audition is not for the 78th generation, we aren’t expecting you to completely follow the footsteps of NO NAME who are a conglomeration of the 77th generation and the 75th generation.” Katagiri had shown up after the group had left, chuckling at the pure awe in the auditionees faces. “They are purely here to pass on lessons we believe would be beneficial to you and your goals. So, I will start calling groups up to do their rendition of Beginner in another practice room. Please, relax until then.” With that, she left the room, her heels clacking behind her. 

“That was amazing!” Mina yelled. Aoyama was the only one who nodded in the agreement, the other three members of their group stuck open-mouthed and awestruck. 

“I-I’ve never seen an AKB0048 performance upclose like that before. It was something else.” Komori held her hands to her chest, her heart thumping wildly within. Izuku and Kirishima agreed with the sentiment. It felt like watching a fight between a hero and a villain, the way their hearts seemed to beat in unison. 

“The kirara were shining so bright too. Hey, Izuku-chan, didn’t one come out of you too?” Mina smiled wide down at Izuku, who only blushed at the sudden proximity.

“I-, well,” Izuku could barely stutter out a response before Kirara flashed between the two fluffy haired teens. 

“Wow! A real kirara! I’ve only ever seen these on screens.” Komori said the group looked closer as Kirara seemed to sparkle brighter in pride. Izuku only blushed as he saw the girls poke and scratch under what he could only assume was Kirara’s chin.

“You know, they say Kirara are born when someone has a strong enough radiance that it can’t help but make a physical form. Kirara can also split themselves apart and make more kirara that way. But no one knows everything about them.” Komori giggled as she watched Kirara float in a circle around them before stopping at Izuku’s head.

**I’ve never had to split before, but with the way things are going…**

Izuku jolted and looked at Kirara who glowed happily at him.

**Don’t worry. They can’t hear me. Only a select few can, and right now it’s mainly the dualium in your chest that’s helping you.**

Izuku grumbled as he hugged his knees closer to his chest. He wondered what Kirara had meant but knew that if he pushed any more than Kirara was willing, he would completely clam up. He thought back to the performance and he can still remember the way the lights of the combined kirara had almost burned into his eyes. It was like looking into a galaxy, the way the kirara had fixated and danced themselves around NO NAME. Kirara had said that he was meant to learn something here, maybe it had something to do with the radiance the idols produced. Still, maybe he should ask. It couldn’t hurt but maybe Kirara and Sensei Sensei wanted him to learn everything on his own. Maybe he should-

“Uh, Dude? You’re mumbling.” Kirishima nudged his shoulder, pulling him out of his thought process. 

“Oh, s-sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it! It was kind of interesting seeing you think out your thoughts like that.” Kirishima laughed. Any response Izuku could say was interrupted by the door to the studio opening.

“Will group 9 come forward.” Shinoda clapped her hands and made eye contact with Izuku. With his heart suddenly in his throat, Izuku stood up from his position, his group rising with him. It felt like the death march as they walked behind the forever cheerful Shinoda as they walked to their audition. 

* * *

They entered a separate studio, an exact replica of the room they were previously in. On the railings that stood at the back of the room were the rest of NO NAME along with Katagiri and a woman with long green hair. After leading them to stand in front of the group, Shinoda was quick to run up the stairs and bump shoulders with Kanata. 

“As you know, for this portion of the audition we ask each group to perform their rendition of the AKB0048 song Beginner. Earlier we had NO NAME give you an example of a performance of it. While we don’t expect something of equal measure, we are looking for something that we think could achieve that level. We will start the music. Good luck.” 

The group were quick to get into the beginning position of the number. Izuku felt the eyes of all the judges pierce every member of his group. He felt a drop of sweat slide down the side of his head and swallowed hard. Turning his head, he tried to make eye contact with each member of his group.

Mina and Kirishima were nervous, but they were also smiling. Excited for the chance to perform in front of them. Komori was like him, sometimes, in that she was super shy but had a huge amount of determination to get this internship. Her cross-shaped eyes blazed and a smile spread her lips. Aoyama was the same as always, the familiar upward tug of his lips as he winked at Izuku. The curly haired boy looked up at the judges and realized that, no matter the outcome, he might’ve made some friends in this. Katagiri clicked a button, the music blaring in the room.

_ In your position, set! _

The song was familiar to his ears, he played it constantly in his room and privately practiced each move. He could hear Kyoka and Momo in his head, correcting every step and tilt of his voice as the song echoed in the room. His mother would be on the other side of the door, listening but most certainly cheering him on. There were people who believed in him, people who weren’t Katsuki. 

_ Are we dreaming? _

_ Are we believing in the future? _

The sound of all five of their voices echoed in Izuku’s head. A harmonious sound that roared over the instrumentals of the music. He barely noticed when Kirara floated out of his chest and shined bright above the group. He never noticed when a smile grew on both Chieri and Acchan’s face as they glanced at each other. 

Each member of his little group had something to contribute. Izuku learned to appreciate Mina’s enthusiasm, Kirishima’s determination, Komori’s passion, and even Aoyama’s confidence. He couldn’t fall behind, he couldn’t bring them down. 

Kirara’s sparkle seems to call on other kirara from seemingly nothing. Though their glow was nothing compared to NO NAME, it still existed. Their lights sprouted from them, like wings of an angel, Izuku never noticed himself or his eyes glowing particularly bright.

“It’s almost similar, but different.” The green haired woman said watching the performance. Katagiri’s face didn’t change but she seemed contemplative. 

“They’re new, but they’re bright. I wonder how bright you’ll glow, Midoriya Izuku.” Acchan whispered, her own kirara sparkling in her palm. 

_ We don’t need to know anything, Beginner! _

* * *

“A thank you for everyone for the time you put in for this audition. I will be calling the groups one by one. After we tell you your results, you may immediately leave and go about your business. Once again, we thank you for your position in the internship auditions.” Katagiri said, giving a slight bow before she began calling the groups. Thankfully, there weren’t too many groups so each call wasn’t too far apart. Regardless, Izuku felt his heart hammer in his chest. 

He clenched his hands in his palm, the familiar strain only slightly grounding him. Before he could really overexert himself, he felt an arm sling itself around his shoulder. He whipped his head around and met Kirishima’s wide sharp-toothed smile. Looking around, the other three members of his group smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He could tell each one was nervous, all sweaty and clammy from their performance and the anticipation of their group being called. Right now, Izuku could only hope. 

“Will group 9 come back to the performance room?” Kirishima lent a hand down and pulled Izuku from his sitting position. The calloused hand grounded him so he wasn’t feeling like he was jumping out of his skin. As the group walked toward the performance room, he felt Komori grab his other hand as Mina grabbed Kirishima’s other. Aoyama, the familiar smile having a small tilt downward giving away his true feelings, clenched both hands around Mina’s. 

NO NAME was still as intimidating as they watched the group enter again.

“The fighting portion showed your group could easily follow orders and that you were quick to figure out each other’s weakness and how to cover them. It was an easy choice for you to pass the fighting portion of the audition.” Katagiri started with a click of her pen. 

“But it was your performance audition that was truly important. And what made you stand out.” Suzuko quietly stated, a small smile gracing her lips as she looked at the group’s joined hands. 

“We, as NO NAME and more importantly AKB0048, perform so we can lighten the darkness that consumes people’s hearts. We aren’t heroes in that we can save the day. But still, as idols on the stage, we save people in our own way.” Chieri jumped from the railings to stand in front of the group. The rest of the judges followed her down to stand in front of the small group of five. 

“Idols and heroes go hand-in-hand. To protect people from the darkness both outside and within their hearts.” Acchan started, her orange kirara floating in her hands as she cupped them together. “Our songs, our performances, both inspire people and give them the courage to face another day.” Her eyes glittered, portraying she knew more than she let on. 

“We, as AKB0048, believe that you’ll be able to further that lineage in whatever dream you have. Whether or not you all want to be an idol, or you all want to go into heroics.” Acchan smiled bright at them.

“Whatever you choose, you will do it with the teachings of AKB0048 up your sleeve.” She raised a finger over her head.

“Welcome to AKB0048!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Nagisa/Acchan was kind of strange. I wanted to keep the naivety that she had but at the same time, I feel like Acchan's energy is more enigmatic. As with all the other members, I think as Izuku starts to interact with them, I feel like it'll be a similar difference between him and Mirio. Just experienced vs. inexperienced. 
> 
> Kirishima was fun to write. I've yet to decide how this'll go romance-wise, but Kirishima wasn't anywhere near my original thought process. But I always found the Kirideku dynamic cute so who knows. That being said, it was harder than I thought to write Katsuki since most of his interactions are aggressive. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and comment if you want, I truly appreciate every one.


	6. Chapter 6

Izuku tucks his head into his shoulders and smiles softly as Kirishima lamented about him almost falling in practice. The green-haired boy admits to himself that the moves for the song they were learning were a bit complicated, but he enjoyed seeing Kirishima complain about it. 

The five of them, Mina, Kirishima, Aoyama, Komori, and himself, were already a few months into their life as interns for AKB0048. It’s been months filled with repetitive lessons of singing, dancing, combat, and sometimes even interpersonal skills. “Knowing what to say and how to say it is an important skill,” Tsubasa would quote at them. Izuku still couldn’t believe that his group, especially him, were able to pass the auditions and be trained by the trainees and successors. 

That was another thing. Everyone was nice to him so he enjoyed that. Sonata-san, despite being younger but also more experienced, calls him Izu-chan. Because of that, everyone now calls him Izu-chan or Izukkun or some variant of his first name. He couldn’t complain, not when it was far better than deku. He’s met almost every member except for the more aloof and busy successors. Though, Chieri and Acchan still terrified him. It’s not that they were mean, it was more like they were Important. 

“Chieri is the Center Nova, who has the biggest radiance of all the current members. Maeda Atsuko has been the only member of the group, in any iteration, to easily match the radiance of the center nova. So of course they’re terrifying.” Kyoka had said over the phone. Izuku did his best to stay in contact with Momo and Kyoka, even if they forgave him for being so busy.

“You’re basically training to be an idol with super fancy teachers. It’s not that surprising to see you busy way more often. You’re still going to school too, so it’s only fair.” Kyoka laughed on the screen of his phone, the video call allowing them to talk so open. Momo ducked her head into view. “I’m glad they were able to continue your dancing lessons, Izuku. Amagi-sensei was a little concerned for awhile that they would focus more on the singing aspect.” 

Izuku shook his head and reassured the long-haired girl about his continuing lessons. 

“Hey, Izuku! Are they your friends?” Mina placed a sweaty arm over Izuku’s shoulder. Everyone was on break currently, his main reason for being able to call the girls.

“Hi there, I’m Ashido Mina! I’m a member of Izuku’s group, let me introduce you to everyone else.” Mina cackled as she swiped Izuku’s phone and went to each member of their little group. He could still hear the girls giggling on his phone as he was finally able to get his phone back from the pink fiend and settle next to Kirishima on the wall. The brunette could barely hold back his laughter.

“You’ve made so many new friends, Izuku. We should all hang sometime.” Kyoka laughed as Izuku’s pink face came into view. “Make sure you guys take care of Izuku! He may not seem like it but he’s a reckless guy.”

“I got you covered, dude!” Kirishima patted Izuku’s shoulder, to which he gave a small smile back. 

So yes, his life is a bit different now than before when all of this started. When he met Sensei Sensei and Kirara who gave him a better chance to become the hero he always wanted to be, even if that dream changed a little bit to add idol work. It’s still better than before. 

That being said, he still hasn't had a second confrontation with Katsuki after the first one. It was like they were both ignoring each other, but Izuku wasn’t going to question a blessing and still did his best to avoid the blond. Izuku could feel his stares in class sometimes, but it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to. Being the unfortunate center of attention of Katsuki was normal for him. 

“Alright everyone,” a call from the door had Izuku whispering a quick goodbye to the girls before turning off his phone. Tsubasa held a tablet to her hand as she spoke to the group. “As some of you may know, there has been a recent announcement of multiple graduations. Takahashi Minami the 5th, Kojima Haruna the 8th, and Akimoto Sayaka the 10th. Due to the lower number of members being able to perform for this graduation as the three graduating members will have a performance of their own, we have decided to allow you as a group to perform in this ceremony.”

Izuku widened his eyes as he looked as Komori and Mina melted into bundles of nerves and excitement. Aoyama even had his characteristic smile lower a bit, his laughter a bit higher than normal. 

“Uh, what’s a graduation for the members?” Kirishima raised his hand. Tsubasa gave a small smile before turning her tablet around and showing the group a picture of multiple girls in white dresses. 

“A graduation ceremony is the ceremony we hold for the members of AKB0048 that choose to leave the group. Their leaving could be for a variety of reasons for leaving, each one personal for the girls. So please refrain from asking the respective members why.” Tsubasa locked her tablet and held it to her side. “The ceremony will consist of four performances. This actually leads me to two more announcements.”

Tsubasa walked to the front of the room and tapped on her tablet. Turning it around, she revealed the words announcement in big kanji on her screen.

“Since the graduation performance will also be used as the internship performance, I will announce something new. S Quadruple is the writer behind AKB0048’s songs, and as such he has written two new songs for this group to sing. One of which is a solo.” Mina and Komori gasped again at the news. “As some of you may know, AKB0048 isn’t known for their solo’s, however, S Quadruple has decided that someone of this group has qualified to do a solo. The solo song is called Luminous Gate and will be a solo performed by Midoriya Izuku, backed by Kirishima Eijirou, Ashido Mina, Komori Kinoko, and Aoyama Yuga. Your second song is a performance of the new song Synchrogazer.” 

“For now, these are the lyrics to Synchrogazer.” Tsubasa turned the tablet to face her and began reading off the screen.

“Listen to my song. Can you hear my voice? Please tell me. Aim for the fictional sky devoid of answers and fly away…” Izuku closed his hands and listened to the lyrics. The thought of a solo terrified him. He wasn’t sure he had the abilities to perform it right. For now, all he could do was focus on the sound of Kirara giggling in his head and the lyrics Tsubasa was quoting.

“We will begin practices for these songs and the new setlist in our next practice. For now, you are dismissed.”

* * *

Dagobah beach would’ve been pretty had it not been covered in trash. Izuku leaned against the railing as the water splashed against the concrete underneath. The wind carried salt in the air, a refreshing smell compared to the sweat and musk of the studio.

The announcement of the new song along with their performance for the graduation ceremony was big, if Komori and Mina’s excited jumble of words were anything to go by. There hadn’t been a graduation ceremony in a long time, and the last big one was the official induction of Chieri as center nova and Nagisa Motomiya as Acchan. So for them, interns that were only there until the start of their time in high school, to perform for such a big ceremony is huge. 

He was scared of failing his group. Even if he refuted Katsuki’s words, he still felt like a quirkless nobody. The symphogear abilities seem to give him a hand in combat but that didn’t mean anything for a performance like the one they want from him. What if he messed up? What if he choked at the biggest point? A solo? For him?

“Are you nervous?”

Izuku jumped in the air, almost falling over the railings. Turning around, he was surprised to see Acchan herself giggling behind her hand. 

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” The pink haired girl walked up to the railings next to Izuku. It hit the teen that she was the same age as him yet had the air of someone completely older. Her eyes scanned across the waves as they splashed against the concrete.

“It’s completely natural to be nervous, you know?” She held her hands together as a kirara floated near her. Izuku’s own Kirara appeared and danced in a circle with her own, causing her to giggle. “I was a wreck when the understudies did our debut performances. They gave us a new song too, the first since Acchan the 13th was center nova. It gave us a lot to follow and I wasn’t sure if we were able to do it. I also had to do a solo too, my first one at our first concert. It seemed like it was so much and I didn’t know if we could handle it.” Acchan turned and smiled at Izuku, her eyes bright and bold. 

“But we relied on each other. We practiced hard and even if so many things came to stop us, we still did it. To this day, it was one of our most popular concerts.” She grabbed Izuku’s hands and held them together in hers, his cheeks glowing a bright red. He did his best to ignore Kirara giggling next to his ear. “Make sure to rely on your friends, Izukkun. And don’t give up.” And with that, she walked the way back into the street, her shoes clacking on the wooden boardwalk. 

There was a feeling in his chest, like a small fire as it burned it’s way across his body. She was right, he thought. Her words sparked a fire in his chest that he didn’t want to let go. Was this the power of Maeda Atsuko the 14th? He was still afraid of failing, of messing everything up horribly. But that fear wasn’t alone in his chest, now he knew that there were people who believed in him too. 

Kirara sparkled in the air above him, a response to the growing feeling in his chest. A tall, lanky blond man stood at the other end of the boardwalk, surprised to see such a shining glow appear from a small teenage boy.

* * *

Izuku checked his phone again, the time revealing it barely into the afternoon. He hoped his outfit was casual, that he didn’t overdress or anything. 

Today, he was somehow able to get all of his friends to agree on a day to meet up. Momo and Kyoka were both busy studying for UA, as Kyoka finally spoke to her parents about applying. Thankfully, they told her she could do whatever she wanted just as Momo and Izuku expected, but it must have been nice to hear it from them. Izuku recalled his mother’s apologies about being quirkless but was quick to wipe them from his mind. Today was supposed to be a good day to hang with friends. 

“Hey, Izuku!” An arm pulled Izuku down, Kirishima’s wide grin up close and personal. Izuku giggled as the boy wrestled him into a side hug, a small blush staining his cheeks. 

“Hi Kirishima,” said Izuku when they finally settled. The brunette gave a smile while Izuku looked behind, the rest of his friends walking up. 

“Ah, Izukkun, you look lovely today, not as sparkling as me, however!” Aoyama smiled brightly at the green-haired boy who gave a soft smile in response.

“I think that's Kyoka-san and Momo-san over there.” Komori pointed a shy finger at two more approaching figures. Kyoka and Momo gave a small wave as the two showed up in their own casual outfits. Kirishima pouted as he noticed the slight height difference between him and Momo.

“Guess I’m not the tallest anymore, huh?” Momo blushed but smiled at his words when they met up with the group. Izuku did his best to give introductions, but Mina reminded him that they had already done that over the phone. The group collectively decided they enjoyed seeing Izuku blush and embarrass himself, if the quick meeting of everyone’s eyes meant anything. After a few minutes of stammering, Kyoka decided to take pity on Izuku and started to pull him toward the mall they were entering. 

Izuku had planned, after talking with everybody, that a mall would be the best in terms of making sure that everyone had something to look at. He still felt like he was getting to know everybody so he didn’t want to just assume. 

But it was fun to go down every corridor and hall of the mall with everybody. They decided to stay as a group and chose to go to each store that at least one of them had a passing interest in. It was enlightening in a way to see what everyone was interested in, though some didn’t come as a surprise. Aoyama and Mina were ravenous in whatever makeup stores they passed, Momo coming in second but nowhere near as intense about it. Though they did talk about how cute Izuku’s freckles would be with some items, even if he politely declined them. 

He did appreciate not having to be the only to want to go into the hero merch stores. He knew Kirishima had a passing interest in Crimson Riot, but when faced with some of his less popular merch, he was as intense as Izuku was with All Might. Both of them had happily left with merch. 

Komori and Kyoka had actually bonded a bit over music. Komori had a large love of idols, so he was surprised that that had included BABYMETAL, which was less of an idol group and more of a metal band, but apparently it was enough for her. Kyoka also had loved the group and they had gushed about them for a hot minute before dragging Izuku around the store for more music. For someone wanting to be an idol, Kyoka dryly stated, you sure don’t know too much about music. Izuku had flushed and didn’t know how to say how late he was in the game of liking idols, but Kyoka must’ve gotten something from his mumbles since she just ruffled his hair and shoved a pair of headphones into his hands. 

He really wasn’t prepared for the immense size of AKB0048’s discography. Komori mentioned that even as big of a fan as she was, it took a long time to get through the entire thing so it was best to not get worked up over it. Regardless, Izuku felt like it would be best if he tried anyway. Kirishima felt the same way too, since Mina had only recently gotten him involved in that world too. 

“S Quadruple made hundreds of songs for the girls to sing. He hasn’t done it as much lately, but with the addition of the 77th generation, I think he’ll get back into it. I mean, we got our own original song too!” Komori said, her unique pupils staring intensely into Izuku’s own. The mushroom girl’s random bursts of confidence always surprised Izuku, but he appreciated them nonetheless. 

He wasn’t sure if he appreciated everybody, even Kirishima, forcing him into the clothing stores. Apparently, shirts with the word shirt on them weren’t good for an up-and-coming idol hero, but how was he supposed to know that? Thankfully, they didn’t make him change at the store or anything, but he did leave with a hefty bag filled with clothes. 

“One of the most important things to an idol’s reputation is appearance! You can’t ruin your innate cuteness with ugly clothes, Izukkun!” Mina pinched his cheeks, trying to force the point in with pain. The blush on his cheeks was more than just from the pain.

Being an idol, or at least an intern of a group of idols, was both more and less than what he thought. He wasn’t going to be an actual member of the group so there wasn’t too big of an expectation on him and his group, but that didn’t mean they didn’t teach him somethings. Like how he needed to be eating way more than he originally if he was going to work out as much as they did. Or how to be aware of your surroundings while doing your own thing. 

“There’s a lot of practices we use in performances and other idol work that could easily be transferred into hero work. It’s just up to you to use them. Many of the girls could’ve easily applied for UA, got in, and become a top hero. They just decided that being an idol would be more in line with what they want to do than heroism.” Tsubasa had said over practice one day. Of course, being totally tired and sweaty meant that it went over his head a bit, but he still remembered. He often thought about what kind of quirk everybody had if Tsubasa was so confident in them being able to join the hero course. 

“We should probably stop somewhere to eat soon. we’ve been at this all day.” Momo suggested as she put her bags on a table to rest. The group was quick to agree and set off to the food court. It was busy so Izuku had a bit of trouble parting the crowd to get what he wanted. Thankfully, Kirishima was taller and bulkier so he was able to steer him and clear a path. 

“Oh, sorry about that!” He had bumped into a girl and she immediately began apologizing. Izuku returned the bow and looked up and met the eyes of a girl with brown eyes and matching brown hair in a bob. She had a kind smile in her face before it quickly was taken over by shock. 

“O-Oh my god, aren’t you Midoriya? Midoriya Izuku?” The green haired teen blinked before nodding shyly. “I’ve seen the photos of your picture shoot for AKB0048 for the upcoming graduation concert, I’m a fan!” 

Izuku blushed bright as he heard Kirishima laughing behind. He had forgotten the small photo-shoot his group did to Tsubasa’s request. Mikako-san, or Miichan as she aggressively suggested, took photos of each member in a way that described them and advertised them as interns. Izuku remembered his were photos of him singing, eyes bright and smiles wide. He was embarrassed for weeks when the rest of his group teased him by asking for autographs of the photo. He still signed them though. 

“T-Thank you so much!” Izuku bowed lowly. The girl scrambled before producing a copy of a photo from the shoot.

“Could you please sign this?” Izuku giggled, pretty sure in his mind that they haven’t started selling these yet but who was he to judge on getting early merch for people he admired. He grabbed the pen near the register. “To Uraraka.”

Izuku signed it with the practiced signature Tsubasa made his group do. ‘You can do it!’ he wrote on the paper. The girl smiled wide at his signature, her hand reaching out to grab it when it glowed a slight pink before floating in the air. The girl scrambled before putting the tips of her fingers together, the paper then slowly falling back down.

“Sorry about that, it’s my quirk. Anti-gravity, ya know? Anyway, I’ve held you up long enough, I'll get out of your way.” The girl fluttered her hands before turning to face another direction. Izuku felt the familiar excitement in his chest. What a fascinating quirk! He wanted to ask more about it. 

The sound of glass breaking interrupted his question, his head turning quick to a window. With a pop, gas started to rise out of a canister on the ground, the culprit to the broken window. Large figure swung and jumped into the food court, the crowd scrambling to get out. Izuku kept a tight grip on Kirishima to not lose him in the wave of people. 

The figures stood up from where they crouched when landing, bold red letter were painted across their armor.

“DES!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where it kind of gets a little hard for me since I have to make up my own events due to there still being some time before the UA entrance exams. So I added the graduation ceremony since that was something I thought wasn't explored in the anime and it would be fun to figure out. Also yes, I'm making Izuku sing Luminous Gate, I thought it would make sense thematically but we'll see. 
> 
> Also Uraraka! I kind of wanted to put her in the group at AKB0048 but I decided against and added Mina who in turn came with Kirishima. I actually really like her character so I thought it made better sense to add her later on. Also from this point on, I probably won't be doing chapter titles since it's easier that way. Probably will add one if I think it's important.
> 
> Thank you for your comments and reviews, they truly help out a lot. I hope this you also leave a comment and/or review with this new chapter as well. Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

“Grab Uraraka, we have to meet up with the others.” Izuku grabbed Kirishima’s hand, pulling the other two into the flowing running crowd. He grimaced as the bodies of the crowd veered him to another direction. He spotted the tail of Momo’s hair and began pushing through the crowd. A hand reached out and grabbed him before forcefully pulling him forward, the smiling face of Aoyama showing up.

“Izukkun, the DES might be after us.” He pulled Izuku closer to the original group. Everyone had flipped over tables and hid behind them, Momo creating cloth masks to go over everyone’s faces. 

“Momo, can you try creating a fan? We need a big one if we want to at least blow the gas in a safer direction.” Izuku quickly put on the mask as Momo blinked in surprise at the quick request, but nodded and started lifting up the bottom of her dress to reveal more skin. The gas rose higher and began blocking their view of the DES members from their position. Kyoka poked Izuku on the shoulder and pointed down, one of her earlobes was stuck into the ground.

“I can hear them with my quirk. I think most of the crowd has left, but I think those guys are still in front of us. They’re also beginning to move.” Izuku nodded, turning forward to the direction she indicated. “I think we saw seven of them come in from the windows, but there might be more.” 

Izuku turned more to the group around him and made eye contact with the other interns. Kirishima and Mina gave him a thumbs up while Aoyama smiled and Komori clung to the blond’s back. It was probably better if he made Aoyama and Komori back up while Mina, Kirishima and him could possibly head first. Momo sighed as she finished making a large electric fan. It hummed as it turned on, blowing the gas away from their group slowly.

“I saw this fan on a camping magazine, I looked it up. It works on batteries!” Momo smiled as Izuku gave her a shaky one in return. “Momo, do you have any combat training?”

“Yes! My parents put me in multiple weapons training lessons for a while now in preparation for UA.” Momo’s thigh glowed briefly before she brought out a large metal shield. Izuku turned toward Uraraka and Kyoka who both shook their heads.

“I have a little bit of boxing lessons, but not that much.” Kyoka smacked her lips, angry at herself. Izuku nodded as he took the information in. So that left six people who could fight and two that couldn’t or not as well. Not only that, but Komori and Aoyama are more long-range or support types. Izuku put a finger to his chin as he thought over the possibilities. He could possibly use his quirk to engage the enemy as he knew that if his armor could take a hit from that monster thing, he might be able to block bullets. Not only that, but he was significantly faster in the armor, so it might be smarter to take out more enemies himself. 

“Kirishima, Momo, you two need to make a defensive wall against the bullets. You should probably give a shield to Komori and Uraraka too. Kyoka, keep track of where the DES are, I plan to go in. Mina, I’ll try to throw their weapons to you, I need you to melt them down with your acid. Aoyama, cover me if you can.” The group nodded as Izuku stood up and ran toward another direction from the group. He needed to figure out a way to get the focus off his friends

“Hey! Over here!” The DES members turned quickly from their position, guns aimed at Izuku. He was able to get a better look at them and saw they were covered in light armor with a gas mask over their faces. Most had small handguns while only two had bigger ones.

“He’s one of those interns, grab him!” Izuku ducked as bullets sailed over his head, throwing his mask off to the side.

_ Balwisyall Nescell Gungnir Tron _

The burst of light from Izuku caused the DES members to briefly shield their eyes, giving enough time for the teen to shoot forward and punch a member in the gut. The member let out a grunt of pain, Izuku then grabbed the gun and threw it over the general direction of the group. As he knocked the member out, he was glad to hear the sizzle of Mina’s acid. 

_ Why have I come to this world? _

_ Destiny must have brought me here for a reason _

He ducked as another member swung the butt of his gun onto Izuku, he rolled forward and did a low sweep, tripping the person over. He tore the gun away from the person and struck down on his stomach. The man let out a wheeze, the air knocked out of him. With two down, Izuku jumped over the man’s body and ran behind a food stall. 

Izuku glanced around the corner and saw the DES members huddled closer together, back to back. The gas hid the lower half of their bodies but he noticed that it was slowly turning in another direction. He could see the gas reveal the group from behind the table. He heard Kirara’s giggle as he appeared from outside his chest and floated next to his head.

_ We can take ourselves anywhere _

_ Even fly into the future beyond our sight _

“We need to take care of the gas, we can’t let it harm everyone else.” Kirara said, reflecting his thoughts before disappearing back into Izuku’s chest as the teen nodded. The pistons on his legs turned and shot out before launching him across the floor. He leaned forward and stuck out one leg, the jets from his waist launched responding to his intention. Using the front of his body and his leg as weights, he spun in a circle and jumped up, the gas pulled by the wind. He forced the gas further up and broke the windows closer to the ceiling, the gas fluttering into the open. 

Izuku twisted in the air and looked down, the remaining five members still huddled together and gaping from their position on the floor. 

_ Maybe we were brought together to overcome this challenge together _

“Shoot him!” The member raised their guns and began shooting at Izuku as he fell. He crossed his arms to shield his face as a blue ray shot a member's gun out of his hands. Kirishima and Mina ran forward and swung their bodies on and took care of two more members. The smell of Mina’s acid melting down more guns hit Izuku’s nose as he landed on the ground. 

A long metal pole flew in the air and struck a member on the head before he could turn and raise his gun toward Izuku. A roar from Komori, Uraraka, and Kyoka caused him to blink in surprise as they tackled the remaining member on the floor. He was quick to run and knock out the member before he could react and hurt the other three. Looking around, he noticed all the nearby DES members were knocked out and their guns melted. His friends got up and smiled at him, Kirishima gave him a thumbs up.

_ Our smiles sing out with us _

The song from Izuku’s armor quieted down, sections of his armor opening up and steam billowed out. 

“Quick, grab him! He’s going to fall!” Kyoka yelled as the armor flashed. Aches and pain racked Izuku’s body as exhaustion spread throughout him. His legs buckled as Kirishima and Aoyama lifted him up by their shoulders before more gently setting him down.

“Are you okay, Izuku?” Komori asked from the side. Izuku nodded and took account of his body. He was nowhere near as tired as he was the first time around, but it wasn’t like he was perfectly fine either. He shakily stood up on his own until Kirishima wrapped an arm around his waist, his smile causing his sharp teeth to glint from the light.

“Don’t worry, I got ya!” He said. Izuku nodded before turning to Uraraka. “Do you have a weight limit to your quirk?”

“Uh, at the moment my limit is three tons.”

“Wow, oh my god, that’s so cool.” Izuku ignored Kirishima trying to hide his laughter as Uraraka waved her arms in the air in denial. “Uh, I need you to use your quirk on the DES members and gather them up for the police. Komori, Kyoka, could you…?” The two girls nodded, joining Uraraka into gathering up the members.

“Hey! Are you kids okay?” Izuku turned to see a police officer running up to them. “The EMTs are on their way if anyone is hurt.”

“I think we’re mostly fine. The gas they used seemed to just be smoke anyway. He was the one who seemed to get the worst of it.” Momo reported, tilting her eyes in Izuku’s direction. The green haired teen gave a shaky smile as he leaned his weight onto Kirishima. 

“I’m not really hurt, just tired from my quirk.” He said, his voice quiet from the exhaustion. The officer nodded before getting pushed forward a bit. He turned and saw Uraraka waving her hands in the air apologetically as a boot from a floating member of DES accidentally bumped into his back.

“S-Sorry!”

* * *

Thankfully, the EMT’s were quick to just agree that Izuku was tired. He got a couple of scrapes and bruises but at least he was right in that his gear could block bullets. The police asked a couple of questions of the incident, nodding their heads sympathetically as they learned most of their group was studying under DES. 

“AKB0048 members and even smaller idol groups sometimes have a bit of protection when going into public areas like this in fear of DES. While they usually can take care of themselves, it’s better if they don’t fight anyway. So good on you and your group on quick-thinking and your self defense.” The officer supplied. Izuku could only smile and nod, his exhaustion catching up to him quickly. 

They were quick on getting them out of there since the EMT’s had already checked all of them to be good to go. Even if he felt incredibly embarrassed on how Kirishima got Uraraka’s number for him.

“You were so manly out there with no training at all! You should totally hang with us!” He crowed at her, his energy almost overwhelming Uraraka before she bounced back just as excited. “For sure!” 

And that’s how Izuku was able to gain a number for another potential friend, even if Aoyama’s side glances were making him blush. She waved goodbye to them as they began separating into different directions.

“I’ll be cheering you on at the concert!” She yelled as she waved. Izuku’s blush darkened, the very true fact that she was a  _ fan  _ of his still perplexed him. Izuku didn’t quite understand why she would be but he didn’t want to refute her claims either. He probably couldn’t either if the way Kirishima was rubbing his back and smiling proudly yet teasingly at him said anything. Mina and Komori’s snickering at his red face didn’t help either. 

The sky was a comforting orange color, signaling the time of the day and reflected how tired Izuku felt. 

“C’mon man, you gotta stay awake so you can tell your mom you’re okay. She’s probably not gonna believe me if I deliver her son’s comatose body.” Kirishima grunted as he pulled Izuku by the arm, the green haired teen slowly falling to the floor. “Ugh, how about this?”

Izuku blinked as he was made to stand on his own a bit. He widened his eyes as Kirishima crouched in front of him and smiled over his shoulder.

“Get on my back! It’s easier this way.” He said, his shark teeth glinting in the evening light. Izuku felt a blush rise in his face as he considered his choices. He quickly realized that being as exhausted as he was meant that he probably couldn’t make the rest of the trip home safely. With reluctance, he climbed onto the taller teen’s back and did his best to ignore Kirishima’s grin. 

He was right, it was much easier to be carried on his back. Kirishima was noticeably built to be taller and wider than Izuku, who’s body grew accustomed to the more flexible martial arts and dance moves. Izuku did his best to control his blush, feeling a little useless at the fact that he needed to be carried.

“Hey, it’s no problem man. You’re my friend, and it’s the least I can do when you took care of those DES goons.” Kirishima laughed, deep in his chest in his attempt to make Izuku feel a little better. 

“You helped too. Everyone did.” 

“Yeah, but you handled almost all of it. I don’t have a nice quirk like you so I felt a little useless.” Izuku raised an eyebrow, unable to see Kirishima’s face. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way. He asked Kirishima to help guard everyone else since his quirk was best at defense. He wouldn’t doubt that he could’ve taken down more members but everyone else wouldn’t have been able to protect themselves the same way either. It made sense strategically, but he guessed that Kirishima is the type of person to want to do more. A bit like Izuku in that way. 

“I asked you to protect everyone because I knew you could do it. Y-You have a great quirk, Kirishima. You shouldn’t think so low of yourself. You did exactly as I asked you to.” Izuku felt himself cling a bit tighter to Kirishima, not entirely aware enough to figure out a way to comfort him. Kirishima gave a small sound of disagreement.

“I’m serious, you did everything exactly right. I knew my quirk, your quirk, and momo’s quirk could do something to block the bullets. But that was only three of us, what about everyone else? Only the rest of the interns had combat training but nothing to stop bullets, maybe Mina’s acid but she wasn’t trained like that. Kyoka and Uraraka couldn’t do anything either.” Izuku started to tug a bit at the ends of Kirishima’s hair at the bottom of his head, Kirishima didn’t feel he should say anything while his friend was in a bit of a rant. He couldn’t suppress the wince at a too sharp tug which Izuku noticed before returning his hands to their previous spot.

“My point is, you did everything you were supposed too. And I’m  _ glad _ . I wouldn’t know what I’d do with myself if anybody got hurt. So I-I should be thanking you, Kirishima.” Izuku wrapped his arms around Kirishima’s neck and hugged him, as much as he could from where he was carried. “You helped keep everyone safe, Kirishima. Thank you.” 

Izuku felt a small blush on his face, unable to see the small blush that fluttered on Kirishima’s. If both boys happened to blame it on the heat of the evening sun, then that was their business.

* * *

“You weren’t as tired this time than you were last time when you activated your symphogear.” Kirara said, fluttering in the air above Izuku’s head as he tapped away on a keyboard. It was a slow day the morning after he came home. Apparently his group contacted Tsubasa and told her what happened, so she suggested that the interns take an extra day off to recuperate from the ordeal. 

“I noticed it too. Is it because I've been training with 00?” He stopped typing, the thought gaining most of his focus. He was mostly looking up 00 performances, hoping to get some incite for his solo performance. Kirara giggled as it floated closer to Izuku’s level.

“Yes and no. Training your body to become accustomed to the idol energy transference does help a lot, but that’s not what’s causing it to become easier.” Kirara poked the scar on his chest with one of his sunflare-like limbs. “It’s you becoming one with the dualium piece.” 

“Becoming one?” Izuku rested his hand on the scar, a strange look coming across his face.

“Yes, it is a foreign object in your body. You’re slowly becoming more accustomed to it. And you singing with 00 is causing it to be a little bit more active. It’s kind of like training wheels!” Kirara fluttered in the air, floating a bit above his head. “Before, you had a natural idol energy but had no way of using it. As you sing more and your energy is used up, your dualium piece trains your body to unconsciously convert the idol energy. Gungnir is the current form of your idol energy as it is converted by the dualium for combat. As you grow, it might change into something else or you’ll simply become more of an expert of handling your energy to purposely become something else. Regardless, it’s still affected by you and who you are.”

Izuku glanced at his screen, another performance of 00 in front of him paused. The face of Acchan the 13th smiled at him from one of her final performances. The way she used the light from her quirk and combined with the light of the kirara was inspirational, weaving into a dress of light that made her shine bright on the stage. It made sense how she became the center nova while also being Maeda Atsuko of her generation. Both Sono Chieri and Acchan the 14th, as he saw in other videos, were getting closer and closer to the level of her light. Izuku doesn’t know if he himself could ever get to that point. 

“Gungnir...what exactly is it?” Izuku whispered to himself, Kirara stopping in the air and gave a sound that prompted Izuku to speak up.

“Why did my energy transform into Gungnir, specifically?” The green haired teen made eye contact with Kirara who giggled and floated in a circle.

“Your idol energy is exactly as it sounds. It’s energy that is perfectly you, your spirit, your soul. So Gungnir is a reflection of that. It’s armor made from your recklessness, your determination, your hopes and dreams.” Kirara let out a small light from himself, the energy warm against Izuku’s skin.

“I want to sing my true feelings to you…” Izuku recalled the lyrics he sang when he fought against the DES.

“Your lyrics are also reflections! The symphogear is almost like a karaoke system and the lyrics come from your soul. You mean exactly what you sing.” Kirara laughed at Izuku’s face blushing at the thought. He was much more forward with his feelings when he had to sing it. “That being said, if you change or maybe if your goal is a little different, the way the dualium converts your energy transforms too. So I do suggest being careful and make sure you know what you’re doing. While it’s okay to be led by your feelings, and thankfully you’re usually led by positive ones, if you were to think negatively…”

“Then my symphogear would reflect that.” 

“Yup! I’ve never really seen what happens when negative emotions fuel the dualium exchange, since it’s mostly idols with good intentions that affect it, so I wouldn’t have a clue what you would do.”

“Didn’t you mention Acchan the 14th had a previous deal with Sensei Sensei?” Izuku raised an eyebrow as Kirara hummed to himself.

“Well, I did, but she had different circumstances than you. She had a strong quirk, she had the drive to be an idol, in reality she didn’t really need Sensei Sensei’s deal to do what either of them wanted.” Kirara floated gently, a little above Izuku’s desk.

“Then why did she make the deal?” 

“Sensei Sensei granted a wish of yours and gave you something of a quirk. Sensei Sensei granted a wish of her’s and gave her something she wanted. I actually don’t know what that is. I was born after the deal was made and only know this much because of what Sensei Sensei allows me to know. After all, we just help deliver messages.” Kirara looked reflective, or as reflective you could get with only having two small dots for eyes. 

“But I didn’t wish for anything.” Izuku furrowed his brow, searching in his memory for a moment when he asked for something from Sensei Sensei.

“No, but it was something that would grant you exactly what you wanted.” Kirara’s light returned, small but concentrated. 

“You wished to be a hero, Sensei Sensei needed a figure of hope. In the end, giving you a quirk was exactly what you both needed to get what you both desired.” Izuku looked contemplative at that. Some unknown emotion rolled around in his chest at the dead-end of information he was getting from Kirara.

“For now, I suggest keep studying. You still have a solo to prepare for, you know?” Kirara giggled as Izuku jolted in realization, scrambling to find the lyric sheets that Tsubasa gave him. Izuku knew he had his work out cut out for him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I wrote this chapter out, I started to really confirm my liking of kirideku. I just think they'd be so sweet for each other. Anyway, I had Uraraka in this chapter because I really like her and had originally planned to have her in Komori's spot until I learned about her, so I was glad to add her in now. As we get closer to the UA entrance exams, we might see more of the UA students. I say we because I know just as much as what's gonna happen as y'all do. 
> 
> Also, I try to work in some stuff about Izuku's abilities since it's kind of a bit up in the air. I hope I can set up the groundwork for that effectively. I also hope I write combat okay, it's a bit strange to figure out how to put those scenes into writing. Let me know how y'all feel about that, the combat, and the pacing of everything. 
> 
> So thank you for reading and please leave a comment/review. They really do help out.


	8. Chapter 8

"That was a good run, Izukkun. How about a small break?" Acchan tilted her head, completely unfazed to the sweaty and tired teen in front of her. Izuku felt like a fish out of water, gasping in large gulps of breath. 

Almost halfway through the school year and Izuku still couldn't quite believe the life he had now. Acchan and Chieri had taken it upon themselves to help Izuku with training for his Solo. Both had the solo in their debut concert so to them it only made sense if they helped Izuku with his. That being said, being taught by the center nova  _ and  _ Acchan who was pretty much the princess of 00 was a task he should've expected the difficulty of. Those two were vicious in practice. 

Luminous Gate wasn't an overly difficult song, but it felt  _ different _ . Komori said that 00 had a discography that spanned genres so it technically wasn't that out of the norm. But to Izuku, it felt like it was something personal. 

"That's how we felt about _Yume Wa Nando Mo Umarekawaru_ , or just Yume for short.” Acchan handed Izuku a water bottle and sat down next to the teen. Chieri gave a nostalgic smile at his actions. “The song felt like it was directly coming from our hearts, so when we first performed it, it felt special.” 

“Dreams are reborn over and over…” Izuku whispered to himself, the title of the song alone had so much feeling of hope tied with it.

“S Quadruple wrote that song for our group, the combination of the 75th and 77th generation, NO NAME. Tsubasa said that the song was a culmination of all of our hearts into words. Maybe Luminous Gate is the same way.” Acchan pulled up the lyrics on her phone.

“Just one step ahead, beyond the reach of my hand. I want to know what is there, Luminous Gate. That is a dream that shines more than love.” Chieri quoted. Acchan let a surprised look flash on her face before a knowing smile stretched her mouth.

“You already mesmerized the lyrics, hm?” She said, a teasing tilt to her words. Chieri took another sip of her water.

“I wanted to know how it went. It’s a very pretty song, if a little intense for a Solo for someone so new.” Chieri’s blunted words were intense against Izuku’s mostly sensitive disposition. Though, Izuku knew she didn’t mean it in any kind of way. Acchan had explained that Chieri sometimes said things more blunted than people were expecting from someone like her. 

“I think it’s perfect for someone like Izuku. You want to go into heroics after your internships, right? Along with the rest of the interns.” Izuku nodded shyly. The discussions of what was going to happen after their internship wasn’t brought up often. Mostly because there wasn’t really a time anyone brought it up due practices, school, or just hanging out to complain about practice or school. It was a passing acknowledgement between the group, that they all wanted to go to UA and hopefully make the hero course. Izuku thought everyone had amazing quirks and were a shoe-in for the hero course, he just hoped he had the same chance.

“Y-Yes, I wanted to see about doing idol work along with hero work. I didn’t want to sacrifice one for the other.” Acchan gave a hum as she drank from her water bottle. 

“There have been some heroes who have done their usual hero work along with other idol jobs or even other celebrity careers. There definitely have been past 00 members who went into heroics too.” Acchan said, a thoughtful look on her face. “Ah, being a hero seems so cool too. It’s different than being an idol, but it seems like they’re happy to do it.”

“D-Do you think you could’ve been a hero, Acchan?” Izuku asked. He actually didn’t know what her quirk was, in all his research. Idols didn’t often discuss their quirks unless it was a major mutation like Sonata who had a partial beast transformation quirk sometimes. People tended to flock to idols due to their performances or individual personalities, unlike heroes where a flashy quirk was often enough to get a lot of fans. Even if they had less than admiral personalities sometimes. 

“Well, maybe once I thought about it, but I knew that I was really mesmerized by idols, specifically AKB0048. Chieri and I saw a concert when we were younger that had Acchan the 13th and even Tsubasa performing. I think that’s when we knew that being an idol was truly where we were meant to be.” The two girls shared a private look with each other, a knowing smile gracing their faces. “Besides, I’m not sure how far I would’ve gotten since I don’t even have a quirk.” 

What?

“I think you would’ve gotten far, quirk or not. You’re far too stubborn to accept defeat.” Chieri said, unaware of the spiraling thoughts in Izuku’s head. How did he not know that Acchan,  _ the Acchan,  _ was quirkless? Just like he was before, and still now if he wanted to be honest, he met Sensei Sensei and Kirara. Would he have made a different decision had he known she was? What was she treated like in school? Was she like him and had a Katsuki all her own?

“Izuku?” His name brought him out of his head, turning slightly and met eyes with a concerned Acchan. “Are you okay? You got a little pale.”

“I-I’m okay. I just d-didn’t know you were quirkless. Not that it’s a problem! It’s just…” Izuku couldn’t help but trail off, a bit embarrassed. Chieri gave a noncommittal hum at his admittance, only pushing him to speak up with a bump of her shoulder to his. 

“I...my quirk didn’t come in until recently. So a lot of people think I’m quirkless. I mean,  _ I  _ was pretty sure I was quirkless since nothing ever showed up. But despite that, I still wanted to be a hero.” Even at a young age, when he could call Katsuki his best friend, he knew that heroics was something he admired and loved. Even if idol work was something that was coming to a close second in his heart, being a hero was still on top. Now he had power, but in the end, he was still quirkless, wasn’t he?

“I was just…”

“Surprised someone that was quirkless was successful?” Chieri said, her bluntness pulling the unwanted words straight out of Izuku’s mouth. The green-haired teen blushed, pulling his knees to his chest. Acchan laid a hand on his knees, making him look up into her eyes which sparkled when she smiled kindly. 

“I was the same way too. I wasn’t bullied too bad in school for being quirkless, mostly because Orine and Yuka weren’t afraid to protect me against people who tried.” The pink-haired teen looked up, the memories flowing across her mind as she revisited her past. Chieri knocked her shoulders into Acchan, bringing her back down.

“Though, I realized that in the end I was hiding behind them, and I wasn’t happy like that. All three of us wanted to be idols, and I knew that my fear of being ridiculed as quirkless shouldn’t stop me, or them, from doing what we dreamed of since we were kids. At some point, fighting back is the only choice you have.” Acchan’s signature kirara floated around her head, giggling in the air as it shined quietly near her songstress’ head. 

“In the end, even in the face of disaster, all you have to do is take that first step.”

* * *

_ Of course it would be Izuku who would run straight into a villain fight to save his former best friend without a single plan in his head _ , as proclaimed loudly by his group who fussed over him when he returned to practice with injuries the next day. 

It was a regular day after practice, he had come straight to the studio after school, conveniently missing Katsuki after the teacher told the entire class that he was also applying for UA. Izuku still wasn’t entirely sure why the teacher had decided to do that, but then again, knowing the way the teacher conveniently looked away when Katsuki raved about his powerful quirk and his quirkless status, it shouldn’t surprise him. 

But what did surprise him was seeing Katsuki in a tornado of slime surrounded by flame and destruction. Izuku stood wide-eyed in the crowd watching as his childhood friend was slowly being consumed by the villain. Multiple heroes were on the scene, but Izuku knew that none of them had a quirk that was truly effective against a villain like that.

His heart hammered in his chest, feeling useless and quirkless once again as he watched someone that couldn’t be saved.

But that wasn’t true, wasn’t it? Even if everything seemed like it going against him, all he needed to do was take that first step. 

Ducking under the arms and squeezing himself between the bodies of the crowd, he grunted as he launched himself over the line holding the crowd back. He ignored the screams as he threw his duffel bag at what he assumed were the eyes of the villain. He couldn’t use his fake quirk, not when people would use that against him in a case of misuse and accuse him of vandalism. 

The villain screeched in pain, something from his bag landing successfully in his eye. Izuku jumped forward and swiped at the slime covering the blond’s face, the teen quickly sucking in a lung of fresh air.

“What the hell, Deku? What the fuck are you thinking?” The boy growled, his strength returning by the red glows that came from his hands that were quickly snuffed out by slime. Izuku huffed out, digging his arms into the flowing slime to grab onto Katsuki’s wrist.

“I wasn’t thinking! I still think you’re an asshole! But you looked like you needed help!” Izuku grunted as he planted his feet onto the ground, the slime slowly coiling around his own ankles. He closed his eyes as he gripped the blond’s wrist, praying that one of the heroes behind him was going to do something. 

A much larger hand wrapped around the point where he and Katsuki were connected. Izuku turned and felt his heart jump into his throat. He was greeted by the large white smile of All Might, the #1 hero.

“How inspirational! My boy, you’ve made me realize something I’ve forgotten about what it means to truly be a hero. Now, let me return the favor by saving you!” With that, he pulled his fist back and Izuku could hear the sound of his grip tightening in his fist.

“Detroit Smash!” With what looked effortless, the man swung his fist and blasted the villain away in such a powerful display of power he blew out every single roaring fire in that small alleyway. As Izuku floated in the air, still in the grip of the #1 hero, he wondered how something like this could happen to him.

* * *

“I didn’t need your fucking help, Deku.” Katsuki growled out on their way home, much to Izuku’s quiet annoyance. The two teens were allowed to go home after a brief check up with the EMTs and while the other heroes were too busy with the surrounding civilians to yell at Izuku for popping out of nowhere. Izuku didn’t even get to fanboy over All Might because he disappeared as quickly as he arrived. 

“Did you fucking hear me? I said I-”

“I know you didn’t need my help,” a lie, Katsuki was too close to losing if what Izuku saw was any indication, “but I wanted to help anyway.” Izuku tried to walk faster to get away from the irritated blond, but a rough hand gripped around his bicep spinning him around.

“I’m not fucking done, Deku! I don’t know who the hell you think you are-”

“I’m Midoriya Izuku. I’m an intern studying under AKB0048, I’m training to be a hero, and I plan to get into UA.” The green haired teen blandly stated, Katsuki choking at the direct tone of voice he used. 

“Quit fucking interuppting me!” The blond yelled, sparks shooting from his hands.

“I will as soon as you say something worth listening to.” Izuku really wasn’t sure where all this confidence came from. Talking to anyone else, he wouldn’t be this cavalier about it nor would just be interrupting someone like this. Even now, he mused quietly, Katsuki would be the only one who could pull out such a different side of him.

“I’m not sure how else to tell you, but I refuse to be scared of you anymore,” another lie, Izuku was  _ terrified  _ of Katsuki, but he didn’t have to know that. “I’m moving forward and doing everything I can to be someone I can be proud of. I’m going to save people while being a hero, and I’m going to save people’s hearts by being an idol. I’ve done so many things that people like you told me I would never be able to do.”

Izuku grabbed the hand that was holding his bicep by the wrist before putting pressure between his fingers, forcing him to let go, a trick he learned from Mina. He slammed a flat palm on Katsuki's chest, creating distance between the two. 

“I’ve made friends you can’t scare away. I’ve learned things that I never thought I could’ve. There are people who believe in me and believe I could do everything I dream of and more.” Izuku clenched a fist over his heart, barely taking notice of Kirara floating over his head, a sun made of hopes and determination.

“I know what I want to protect, and while we don’t get along, I’ll save you and everyone else who needs it. I’ll be a hero that can smile and sing despite everything else.” Kirara shined brightly above his head, a halo of green light that highlighted the color of his hair and eyes. Izuku almost physically felt his own words impact on himself, a promise solidified by determination and hopes for the future. Suddenly, his Solo made a little more sense for someone like him. 

Katsuki’s red eyes burn brightly, a star all their own. He blinked away the flashes of lights in his eye from the brightness of Kirara before growling and shoulder checking the other teen. 

“I don’t give a fuck what the hell you do or promise. I’ll be a hero that’s strong enough to beat everyone, including your dumbass. Eat shit, Deku.” The trudged forward, his shoulder hunched as he walked past Izuku and down the alley to where he knew his home led from. Izuku was quiet as Kirara fluttered back down around his chest, a questioning gleam in his eye. 

“I’m okay, just tired, I guess. I didn’t expect much from Katsuki, at least not personally. Katsuki always viewed heroism as something to win at, a point we always disagreed on. I believed heroes should save people, he believed heroes should win against villains.” Izuku felt the drain of the day slowly catch up to him, slight soreness panging across his body but thankfully nothing too bad.

“He isn’t wrong but…”

“But he’s still rude.” Kirara finished for him. Izuku felt a twitch on the ends of his lips before closing his eyes in agreement.

“Yeah. I still hope that it’ll be different in the future but for now, I have to worry about me. Just like Kirishima said.” Kirara giggled as he phased back into Izuku’s chest, the feeling giving the teen a slight phantom tickle. Izuku sighed as he made his own trek home, praying that his mom wouldn’t be too mad about all that happened.

Maybe if he had stayed a little longer in the alleyway, he would’ve noticed the tall gaunt blond man talking into his phone. The man’s abnormally large hands wrapped around the cell and speaking calmly to the person on the other end.

“Tsukauchi, look into Midoriya Izuku for me. No, it’s not for any villainous reason, I’m just curious.” The older man switched the phone from one ear to the other. “I think the boy is special. A successor candidate? Well, who knows. I think a bit more research is required before going into this blindly. I’ll let you know when you give me more information. Thank you, goodbye.”

He clicked the phone, ending the call. 

“Midoriya Izuku, the idol hero. The one who saves people with a smile and a song. Interesting.”

* * *

“We really can’t let you out of our sight for very long, huh.” Mina let out a laugh as she heard the exasperated tone in Kirishima’s voice as he fussed over Izuku’s injuries. The green haired teen only sighed deeper while sitting on the floor, Kirishima ignoring this in favor of checking over him to make sure there weren’t any overt injuries.

“W-Well, at least he looks okay and seems to be able to continue practice. He might’ve tried to practice anyway even if he was injured.” Komori said, passing a water bottle to Aoyama who was still doing his stretches.

“Oui, a spirit like Izukkun’s can never be extinguished!”

“It was very manly of you to do that, especially for that guy.” Kirishima said, smiling slightly at Izuku. He had deemed Izuku well enough to practice, reaching a hand and pulling the boy up from his sitting spot. Izuku returned a shy grin of his own, a little happy that his friends were worried enough to check up on him. 

“Okay everybody, before we start today's practice we’d like to begin with a few announcements.” Tsubasa clicked on her tablet, everyone coming forward to gather near her. 

“As you all know, the graduation ceremony is quickly coming upon us. For this event, we’ve prepared an opening performance by NO NAME, a group performance by you interns, a solo by Midoriya Izuku, and a final swan song performance of the graduating members.” Izuku shyly ducked his head again, a reminder of his solo was something that still struck fear and anxiety in his heart.

“Unfortunately, we have intel that DES will also be planning an attack during this ceremony. With this in mind, we’ve hired some heroes to help out in the event that DES will come forward with an attack.” Flipping the screen over, she revealed the face of the #3 hero, Hawks. 

“Firstly, we will have the #3 hero, Hawks, support us during this event. Hawks has been a supporter of AKB0048 for quite some time now, and quickly volunteered to help us fight back against the potential DES attack.” Izuku vibrated in his seat. Hawks was an amazing hero, one of the youngest of their time who flew through the hero charts like it was nothing. Having someone like that on their side would surely give the DES some pause. 

“As for additional backup, I placed a personal call to a former member of AKB0048. Not only will she help guard us during the concert, but she will also help all of you with additional combat training. This is an offer she... _ excitedly  _ put forth that I would foolish to ignore. So, please welcome-” The door to the studio slammed open, the mirror on the walls vibrating from the force of it. Izuku could feel the rest of his group jump in the air by the loud bang that echoed in the room.

“Hey, kittens! It’s time to get pumped!” The #6 hero, Mirko, roared as she marched into the room and roughly put an arm around Tsubasa’s shoulder, much to the horror of the interns. “I’m Mirko, formerly known as Akimoto Sayaka the 9th! Y’all can call me Rumi or Mirko, I don’t really care!” 

“I did have a proper introduction for you, you know.” Tsubasa squeezed her way out of Mirko’s grip, the hero guffawing at the disgruntled look on their manager’s face.

“Where’s the fun in that? Beside, not like some of these kids already knew who I am. I’m looking at you, Broccoli!” Izuku squeaked as suddenly all of Mirko’s red-eyed attention was on him. “I’ve heard about you in some circles, with that singing armor quirk of yours! We should spar! Matter of fact, I should spar with everyone in this room. Come all or one-by-one, it doesn’t matter!”

Mirko slammed her foot on the floor, her specialized shoes made for her rabbit feet clacked when it hit the ground, making the room shake again. Izuku was somehow reminded of another red-eyed person he knew, the dreading feeling of being plowed through the dirt was suddenly ringing in his head.

“Please remember that this is a public building Mirko, I don’t need any more complaints.”

“Come off it, Tsubasa! This is their first performance  _ and  _ maybe their first major DES attack. All the more reason to be excited!” A kirara shaped like a crescent moon floated near the hero’s head, a matching glare was on its face.

“This is the time to be excited, to prepare for a fight to the finish. As 00 members, you must be ready to face anything that comes your way! Get ready, cause I won’t hold back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought of the Mirko thing pretty last minute. I really like Mirko and her design so since we don't know much about her backstory, I thought it'd be interesting to add this to it. Worldbuilding in this fic is strange and I find myself playing it by the ear, so I hope y'all enjoy being on this ride with me. 
> 
> I'm also still kind of debating on what direction I want to go for one for all, but I did plant a possibly seed in this chapter for one particular direction. It also allowed to kind of give a point on the timeline for the canon events. 
> 
> Anyway, thank y'all for reading and for last chapters comment. I read and enjoy them all. Please leave a comment/review, they help me out and I truly appreciate them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or you notice any typos/problems, let me know!


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